


When we stand together

by Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen



Series: Whatever it takes [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Changing the past, F/M, Family, Time Travel, Vigilantism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2021-04-16
Packaged: 2021-04-18 07:35:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 40
Words: 94,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21792559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen/pseuds/Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen
Summary: Sequel to 'Whatever it takes'. Now understanding who Oliver is and the trials that will await him, Thea, Roy, Laurel, Quentin, and Moira do everything they can to help him as he faces his greatest enemy.
Relationships: Laurel Lance & Oliver Queen, Laurel Lance & Quentin Lance & Sara Lance, Laurel Lance & Sara Lance, Moira Queen & Oliver Queen, Moira Queen & Oliver Queen & Thea Queen, Oliver Queen & Slade Wilson, Oliver Queen & Thea Queen, Quentin Lance & Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance & Sara Lance, Roy Harper & Oliver Queen, Roy Harper & Sin (Arrow), Roy Harper/Jade Nguyen, Roy Harper/Thea Queen, Sara Lance & Sin (Arrow), Sara Lance/Oliver Queen
Series: Whatever it takes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1375852
Comments: 412
Kudos: 83





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So, at long last, here is the sequel to Whatever it takes. I’m not certain how often I will update, so I’m not going to make any promises. For now, I hope you guys enjoy this.

Lian Yu  
Morning

Oliver led Laurel and Thea to where he was staying, the fuselage the pair recognized from the recordings.

“Nice place. Homey,” Thea quipped as she and Laurel looked around. “Is this where you stayed while you were on the island?”

“For some of it,” Oliver said as he put his bow and quiver down and grabbed a shirt. “What are you two doing here?”

“We told you, to bring you home,” Laurel said simply.

“How’d you even know I was here?” Oliver asked and it didn’t escape either of them that he was changing the subject.

“Because I know you Oliver. I know you like my own name,” Laurel said and Oliver scoffed. “Ollie…I know.”

For a moment, the room froze as Oliver stared at Laurel, the implications of what she was saying sinking in. He glanced over at Thea and saw from the look on her face that she understood exactly what Laurel was saying.

“How?” Oliver asked, his voice coming out choked.

“In hindsight, it was obvious. All the times The Hood was there for me, how he and I had a connection I couldn’t explain. How he always went out of his way to help me. I never asked why…because I knew. Deep down, a part of me always knew,” Laurel said softly as Oliver looked away, unable to meet her eyes. “The night of the Undertaking, you thought about telling me.”

“I’ve thought about telling you almost every night,” Oliver said with a shaky breath before turning to Thea. “And you? How’d you figure it out?”

“I always thought it was weird how The Hood went after The Count around the time I was in trouble for using Vertigo. When Laurel came to me, we started putting our heads together…it didn’t take us long to connect the dots,” Thea said, going with the cover story she and Laurel had cooked up. “Ollie…the city needs you.”

“I can’t Speedy,” Oliver said with a sigh. “I failed the city.”

“Ollie, what are you talking about?” Laurel asked as she and Thea exchanged a bewildered look.

“I was warned about mom. I was warned that she involved with something dark. But I didn’t listen; I just stayed in my bubble and buried my head in the sand. Maybe if I hadn’t…Tommy would still be alive,” Oliver said glumly and it was silent for several moments.

Laurel and Thea stared at Oliver as he sat down on the crate nearest to him, a look of complete defeat on his face. It was clear how much this had been weighing on him and both of them were kicking themselves for not realizing how much Tommy’s death had affected him. Before they could speak, Oliver spoke up again.

“Tommy knew my secret,” Oliver said, surprising them, as that was one tidbit Arsenal and Mia hadn’t seen fit to share. “Do you know what he called me when he found out? A murderer.” 

“He was probably in shock,” Laurel started.

“The way you were when you called me a remorseless killer?” Oliver asked pointedly.

Laurel winced, knowing it was not one of her better moments. But that had been before she had seen the suffering Oliver had gone through, had understood it was not as simple as killer and killed. That the world was not as black and white as she had thought. It was much more complicated than that.

“Either way, you were both right,” Oliver said, bringing her out of her thoughts. “I am what the five years of hell I endured made me. I’m a killer, it’s who I am. That’s why I can’t go back. Anyone I kill will dishonor Tommy’s memory. And when I put on the hood, it is kill or be killed.”

“That is such a load of crap,” Thea said bluntly, causing her brother to look at her in surprise. “Look, I loved Tommy, but he had a way of…looking at things in a very specific way. After The Undertaking, I think it’s fair to say that things aren’t that simple, especially in our family.”

“She’s right Ollie,” Laurel said. “I was wrong when I said that. You’re not a cold blooded killer; you are so much more than that. You can’t see that right now…but I think I know someone who can help you.”

As Oliver watched curiously, Laurel reached inside her pocket and pulled out the piece of paper given to them by Arsenal and handed it to him.

“That’s the location of a woman who helps lost souls find themselves again,” Laurel said as Oliver looked at it curiously. “I heard about it from a client of mine.”

“And you trust their word?” Oliver asked skeptically.

“I do,” Laurel said immediately. “I think she can help you.”

“Please Ollie, do it for me,” Thea said, placing a hand on his arm and Oliver’s will crumbled as he looked into Thea’s eyes.

“Fine, I’ll give her a chance,” Oliver said reluctantly. 

“That’s all we’re asking,” Laurel said with a hopeful smile. 

Starling City  
Same time

At the same time, Roy knocked on the door to Quentin Lance’s apartment. The former detective had called him early this morning, saying he’d needed his help with something. The door opened and Quentin stood on the other side.

“Good, you’re here. We have a lot of work to do,” Quentin said as he let Roy inside.

Roy was about to ask what he meant when he stopped, staring at all the boxes around the room.

“Are you moving or something?” Roy asked.

“No. I asked a few buddies of mine to send these over. This is everything the SCPD has on Justine Clayborne,” Quentin explained and Roy’s eyes widened in realizing. “Plus, I ran over to his old office, took everything I could fine.”

“Chase’s father,” Roy said and Quentin nodded.

“I’m hoping something in here will give us a lead on him. You wanna help or not?” Quentin asked getting straight to the point.

“Where do we start?” Roy asked almost immediately. 

Mountain, next day  
Morning

Oliver, dressed in winter clothes, climbed up the mountain side. Pulling himself up, he stared at the door to the monastery that stood before him. This had to be the place, Oliver thought grimly. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over and opened the door.

As he walked inside, he saw several people in black uniforms sparing. As Oliver closed the door behind him, they stopped. One of them pulled the cloth cover her face down and approached him.

“Who are?” she demanded.

“Someone seeking guidance,” Oliver said simply. “Where is your master?”

Snarling, she attempted to strike him but Oliver grabbed her arm and threw her to the floor. As the others rushed him, Oliver dodged a strike from one of the students before sending a kick to the chest, knocking them down. Oliver then engaged the others, throwing two to the ground before grabbing another and lifting him over his shoulder before throwing him to the ground as well. The five quickly got back to the feet and Oliver prepared to fight when0

Hold!”

Shocked, Oliver looked up at a railing. Talia stood there and, judging by the smirk that graced her lips, she found his shock at seeing her amusing.

“Leave us,” Talia ordered and her students left. “Hello Oliver.”

“Talia,” Oliver said as he recovered.

“You did not know that I was here,” Talia noted as she walked down the stairs.

“No. I was told a woman was here that could help me. I didn’t know that was you,” Oliver said and she nodded as she reached him.

“It is good to see you Oliver,” Talia said, a warmth behind her eyes. “But why have you come?”

“I failed Talia,” Oliver said as he looked away, unable to look in her in the eyes. “My father’s list, it was part of something much bigger. I tried to stop it and I couldn’t. I don’t know where to go from here Talia.”

“You feel lost, without purpose, the way you were when I found you,” Talia said and Oliver didn’t deny it. “Well then, we have work to do. Come Oliver, it’s time for us to resume your training.”


	2. Oliver's return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver returns home after completing his training with Talia and shares a few secrets with Thea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy 2020 everyone! Hope you all had a good New Year’s. Without further Ado, here’s the next chapter.

Talia’s Monastery, two and a half months later

Morning

Oliver sat on the floor in a meditative pose, his eyes closed as a candle, lit, was in front of him. Suddenly, without opening his eyes, he whirled around, blocking the strike from one of Talia’s students. He threw the student down before sending a wild kick out, landing a blow in the stomach of another of Talia’s students. The student fell to their knees, clutching their stomach before Oliver kicked them in the head, knocking them out before three more of Talia’s students jumped out to engage him. Oliver dodged a strike from one before grabbing one and, with a whirl, throwing him into another. Oliver then sent a flying kick to the other student, striking them across the face and whirling around, kicking the first student, who had recovered, in the stomach. They went down and Oliver finally opened his eyes to see he stood in a circle of his groaning opponents.

“Leave us,” Talia, from where she stood on the balcony overlooking this, spoke up and the five students got up and left silent except for a few groans. “Well done Oliver. Your training is complete.”

“So you think I’m ready?” Oliver asked, not allowing the doubt he felt to enter his voice.

“I think only you can decide that. But, so long as you remember what I taught you, I think you can face whatever enemy without fear or hesitation in your heart,” Talia said as she walked down the stairs and walked over to him until they stood face to face. “I have arranged a plan for you. It will arrive several miles from the mountain at the closest town. It’s time for you to return home Oliver and continue your crusade.”

Laurel Lance’s apart, next day

Mid-morning

“So how’s your mom doing?” Quentin asked Thea as the two of them, Laurel and Roy ere having breakfast in what had been become their weekly meetings since they had returned from the future.

“She’s hanging in there, I’m heading up to see her tomorrow,” Thea said.

“Give her our best,” Laurel said and Thea nodded.

“So anything new on Chase?” Thea asked as she looked at Roy and Quentin, who both shook their heads sadly.

“No, just a bunch of dead ends. The guy’s a ghost, we’ve exhausted every lead on him and nothing,” Quentin said sourly.

“But we’re not giving up, we won’t,” Roy assured her and Thea nodded gratefully.

Before the conversation could continue, Thea’s phone rang. With an apologetic look, she answered it.

“Hello?”

Starling City Airfield

Afternoon

Roy pulled up onto the airfield and parked the car.

“You sure this is where Oliver told you to meet him?” Roy asked as he looked over at Thea in the passenger seat.

“Yes, he told me to meet him at this airfield at 12:30, on the dot, his words,” Thea said, wondering if she had misheard her brother.

Suddenly, a loud sound pieced the air. The sound of a plane, Thea realized with a start. She quickly opened the door and jumped out of the car. Looking up, she saw a plane was descending from the sky, one exactly like the ones her father and brother had worked on when she was little, Thea noted.

Roy got out of the car as well and the two stared as the plane descended from the sky and landed on the airfield. The ramp lowered after a moment and Oliver Queen walked down.

“Hey Speedy,” Oliver said warmly as he walked over.

Thea ran over and embraced him, which he returned warmly.

“Hey Speedy, it’s okay,” Oliver whispered as she felt her tears slipping onto his shoulder.

“I just…I really missed you,” Thea said as she stepped back, wiping her tears. “So…how long are you staying?”

“As long as it takes,” Oliver said simply.

“So that woman…did she help you? With Tommy?” Thea asked gently, hoping Talia had.

Thea’s question gave Oliver pause as he remembered Talia’s first lesson upon his journey to the monastery.

_Talia’s Monastery, two and a half months ago_

_Oliver and Talia were sparing with swords. Oliver had some skill with the weapon, due to some training from Slade in the early years of his five years of hell, but Talia was leagues above him._

_Talia made a strike towards him and Oliver parried, managing to block her strike._

_“Tommy Merlyn’s death was not your fault Oliver,” Talia told him as she looked into his eyes. “It was his own.” _

_Suddenly filled with rage, Oliver pushed back and Talia broke their stalemate. However, as Oliver tried to strike her, Talia whirled around and struck his leg with her sword. This distracted Oliver long enough for Talia to elbow him in the chest before following up with a kick to his chest. Oliver went down on his back and Talia put her sword at his neck._

_“Giving into your anger will not change that, only get you killed,” Talia told him._

_“A building fell on him,” Oliver growled but Talia was unaffected._

_“Because he allowed his affection for Laurel Lance to pollute his judgement. As you did not,” Talia said before she withdrew her sword. “Laurel Lance may have made the choice to ignore your warning, but Tommy made the choice to go to her when his father’s device activated. Whatever events transpired after that was his own fault, not yours or Laurel’s.”_

Now

“It took me a while to accept what they were trying to teach me,” Oliver told Thea after a moment. “But eventually, I had to accept I did the best I could. Blaming myself for his death won’t help anyone. Eventually, you have to move on.”

There were things Oliver wasn’t telling her, like the nightmares with Tommy blaming him and the weeks he struggled with this. But she didn’t need to know that.

“You remember Roy,” Thea said as she and Oliver approached the car.

“Still here?” Oliver asked an edge to his voice as he held out a hand, which Roy shook firmly.

“Always,” Roy said evenly. “How was Europe?”

“Enlightening,” Oliver said vaguely as they dropped hands.

“Well, you can tell us all about it on the way home,” Thea said as she headed towards the car.

“Actually, I was hoping to drop by the club first. There are a few things I left in the basement that I need to pick up,” Oliver said as he shot Thea a significant look. “I was hoping you’d come help me find them.”

“Sure Ollie,” Thea said as she caught on, smothering the smile that threatened to cross her face.

Oliver nodded before getting in the backseat, completely missing the look Thea and Roy exchanged. It was small for now, but hopefully, they could change the future. They could change Oliver’s fate and the fate o Starling City.

Verdant

Later In the afternoon

“So, when you left mom on the street?” Thea asked as Oliver led her to the basement.

“I was trying to chase down the shooter, who turned out to be Helena Bertinelli,” Oliver explained and she shot him a look.

“As in the Helena you were sleeping with?” she asked incredulously and Oliver looked abashed.

“Yeah, that wasn’t my best moment,” Oliver admitted before he looked over at Thea. “How is she? Mom. Have you been down to see her?”

“Yeah, she’s hanging in there. I was actually planning on heading to Iron Heights to see tomorro. You can come if you want,” Thea offered and Oliver smiled.

“I would like that Speedy. But for now, there’s something you need to see,” Oliver said as they stopped in front of a door.

“I’ve never been able to open this door,” Thea remembered and Oliver nodded.

“There’s a reason for that,” Oliver said before he punched in a code to the door and there was a click.

Oliver opened the door and gestured for Thea to walk inside. Thea walked through the door and Oliver followed. Thea let her brother lead, her heart hammering in her chest as she realized the depths of what Oliver was about to show her and what it meant. It was dark in the room until Oliver flicked a switch. The room was flooded with light and Oliver was surprised as Thea looked around in shock.

“This is where you plan your vigilante-ing?” Thea asked as she looked around, finding it a little less impressive than his lair in the recordings.

“Yeah,” Oliver said and Thea noted he was looking around to.

“Something wrong?” Thea asked.

“No, just somethings are different. My partners have been busy,” Oliver noted.

“You have partners?” Thea asked even though she had an idea about who they were.

“You’ll meet them soon,” Oliver promised as he found what he was looking for.

Oliver walked over to a crate in the corner and opened it. Thea looked confused as he pulled out an old, worn book. As Thea thought about it, she remembered seeing him go through it in his room shortly after he came home, then it had just disappeared.

“What’s that?” Thea asked as she walked over to him.

“This is The List. It’s a book of names of the worst of the worst of Starling City, the people who failed it. It was compiled by our father…and Malcolm Merlyn,” Oliver said and Thea shuttered at the second name. “I found it on our father’s body. Later, I found a message from him, explaining The List.”

“Why are you telling me this Ollie?” Thea asked after a moment.

“Because you are the most important person in my life. And I don’t want there to be any secrets between us anymore,” Oliver said as he turned to her.

“No more secrets,” Thea promised even as her insides squirmed as she remembered her trip to the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bit more planned for this chapter, but this honestly felt like a good stopping point.
> 
> I know some of you were interested in seeing Oliver trained by Talia, but it just wasn’t going to be a big focus of the story. If something of significance comes up, it will be shown in a flashback, but aside from that, it won’t be shown.
> 
> Next up, Oliver dealing with the Hoods and Isabel Rochev, his reunion with Diggle and Felicity, as well and Laurel, and he and Thea visit Moira.


	3. The Hoods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's return is met with Isabel Rochev and violence from The Hoods. Moira reveals a stunning secret to Oliver about his past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here’s the next chapter and it’s a big one. I hope you all enjoy it.

Verdant  
Late afternoon

“So any leads on Oliver?” Felicity asked Diggle as they made their way to the secret entrance of the lair.

“I’ve got a few tips, nothing promising,” Diggle said.

“We’re sure he went back to Lian Yu? Why would he even want to go back there?” Felicity wondered.

“Sometimes, a battlefield is more home than the house you grew up in,” Diggle said simply.

Felicity still didn’t understand but decided to let the matter drop. She punched the code into the lock and the lair was unlocked. They opened the door and started to walk down the stairs when they stopped. The light was on, and they had turned it off the last time they were here. Diggle pulled out his gun and silently began making his way down the stairs. He peered around the corner and saw someone was at the computer. However, he stared in shock as he saw who it was.

“Dig,” Oliver greeted without turning around, looking at whatever was on the computer screen.

“Oliver…you’re back,” Diggle said as he lowered his gun.

“Just got back into town, been catching up on what I’ve missed,” Oliver said as he got up, turning around to face Diggle as Felicity came down the stairs. “It’s good to see you both.”

“I’m sorry, but you’ve been gone for almost five months and now you’re just back? Where have you been?” Felicity asked, in a bit of shock at seeing him.

“I went to see an old friend. They gave me some perspective,” Oliver said before moving on. “So, more copycats?”

“They showed up about a month ago,” Diggle said, deciding to table this conversation. “They’re doing exactly what you did last year, except they don’t have your restraint…or your honor.”

“I disagree,” Oliver said as he looked back at the computers, which was on a news article about The Hoods. “It wasn’t personal for me. And I was going after the people who had failed this city. These Hoods are a bunch of thugs going after the rich and powerful. They’re on a vendetta, just like Helena.”

“Well, over five hundred people were killed in the quake. It’s gonna be hard to narrow down everyone with a reason to want revenge,” Diggle noted.

“Felicity, compile a list of all their targets thus far, see if you can find a link or a pattern. Maybe if we figure out how they operate, we can figure out their next targets. I’d like to stay and catch up, but I have a board meeting to prepare for,” Oliver said as he picked his jacket off the chair.

“Isabel Rochev?” Felicity asked and Oliver nodded. “Bet you’d rather be crossing another name off the list than have a meeting with her.”

“It’s one in the same, because Rochev is on the list,” Oliver said as he put on his jacket, stunning the pair.

“In hindsight, that doesn’t surprise me,” Felicity said and Oliver smiled slightly. 

“I’ll see you both tomorrow,” Oliver said before he walked passed them and out the door, pausing in the doorway. “Nice upgrades.”

Unspecified location  
Same time

“And in local news, Oliver Queen has returned home again,” in a dark room, a TV set played a news report as four men watched it, a clip of Oliver getting out of Roy’s car taken on someone’s cell phone playing.

“Why are they paying attention to him when we just took out another One Percenter?” One of them asked disgruntled.

“Guess he’s takin’ over the family business,” another grunted and the first one had a look of realization on his face.

“We’ve been going about this all wrong,” he said and they all looked to him. 

“What do you mean?” Another asked.

“If we want real justice, we gotta take this fight to the name who did this to us,” the first one said, gesturing to the picture of Oliver on the screen.

“Queen? He’s just some useless brat,” one of them protested and the leader laughed.

“His company’s Applied Science Division built the Earthquake Generator. If we want real justice, then that family needs to pay for the suffering it’s caused us. In full,” he said darkly. 

Limo, en route to Queen Consolidated, next day  
Morning

“So where you been?” Diggle asked as he drove Oliver to Queen Consolidated.

“Somewhere cold,” Oliver said truthfully. 

“You’ve been gone for almost five months Oliver, Felicity and I weren’t sure you’d ever come back. I thought I’d have to drag you back kicking and screaming,” Diggle said and Oliver smiled thinly. 

“I spent the last few months with someone I knew while I was…away. She helped me get perspective on…what happened,” Oliver said, thinking of The Undertaking. “I don’t wanna talk about it John, so please drop it.”

“Okay,” Diggle said deciding to play along…for now.

“How’s Carly?” Oliver asked and noticed Diggle’s shoulders tense for a second.

“Good, she’s good,” Diggle said.

Oliver raised an eyebrow; clearly something had happened with Carly while he was gone. But Oliver decided to table that conversation for the moment. He had a board meeting to attend.

Queen Consolidated  
Afternoon

Oliver and Diggle got off their elevator and were immediately ambushed by Felicity. 

“They’re in the conference room and FYI, no one is eating the bagels,” Felicity said in a rush.

Oliver nodded silently before he entered the conference room. He saw the board members, some of them he recognized, having seen his father talking to them at one point or another. And Isabel Rochev. As she stood up, Oliver eyed her curiously, wondering what she could have done to be put on the list. 

“Ms. Rochev,” Oliver said, plastering on a charming smile as they shook hands. “Sorry I’m late.”

“For this meeting or a career in business?” Isabel asked bluntly and Oliver raised an eyebrow.

“I didn’t realize hostile takeovers were so hostile,” Oliver joked as they sat down.

“On the contrary, I’m actually in a very good mood,” Isabel said and Oliver narrowed his eyes.

“So ruining companies agrees with you?”

“Winning agrees with me,” Isabel said and she was confused by the half amused smirk that crossed Oliver’s face.

“So, you define winning as putting thousands of people out of work? That’s funny. I usually define winning as making sure people are able to keep their jobs, but I guess that’s just me,” Oliver said casually. 

At once, Oliver could tell he’d impressed the board, given the looks they shot him, appraising him. But it would take more than impressing them to take back control of Queen Consolidated, he knew.

“I may not have majored in business, or anything, in college, but I’m aware that we each control forty five percent of the company and that the remaining ten goes up for auction in a few weeks. So I guess until then, we’re partners,” Oliver said, trying not to smirk at the look of outrage crossing Isabel’s face. 

“And then, I will buy it and you’ll be out, considering you have no money,” Isabel said, confusing at why Oliver’s confidence wasn’t fading. “Companies rise and all Mr. Queen, yours has fallen.”

“You sure about that?” Oliver said calmly.

“Oliver Queen!”

Startled, everyone looked up to see three men dressed like The Hood wielding guns burst into the room.

“You have failed this city,” one of them said as they took aim at Oliver.

“Get down!” Diggle shouted as he pulled out his gun.

A fire fight between Diggle and The Hoods broke out as everyone else ducked under the table. Oliver grabbed Isabel and made for the door, pushing her though and she ran. Oliver ducked back for Felicity and grabbed her. They ran for the door before Oliver grabbed her, tackling her to the ground as one of The Hoods opened fire. The barrage of bullets completely shattered the glass wall behind them before it stopped. 

Oliver helped Felicity to her feet as one of The Hoods burst in behind them. Oliver grabbed Felicity and ran for the window. Grabbing onto the chain for the blinds, Oliver and Felicity crashed through the window. Using the chain as a vine, Oliver and Felicity crashed through the window of a room a few floors down. They landed on the floor, hard, a little dazed but very much alive.

“You okay?” Oliver asked as he looked over at Felicity.

“Let me get back to you when my stomach catches up with the rest of me,” Felicity said, looking a little green.

Up above them, Diggle stood up as The Hoods retreated, their prey lost to them.

Later, after giving statements to the detectives, Oliver was looking for Diggle and Felicity to head out when he stopped, spotting a familiar face.

“Detective Lance?” Oliver called out, shocked to see Quentin in something other than a detective uniform.

“It’s officer now,” Quentin said as he turned around to face him, gesturing to his uniform. “My superiors didn’t take kindly to me working with the vigilante. And after the quake, they needed a scapegoat.”

“I’m sorry,” Oliver said remorse filling him.

“Don’t be. I made a decision to do the right thing. And knowing what I do now, I’d still make the same decision,” Quentin said as he looked at Oliver, knowing that those words would have bigger impact with what he knew now. “Listen, I owe you an apology.”

“An apology? For what?” Oliver said confused.

“When you came back…I was pretty hard on you,” Quentin said and Oliver immediately understood.

“You don’t have to-”

“Oh, but I do,” Quentin cut him off. “You and Sara, you were just kids then. And whether she came back or….I was out of line. I’m sorry.”

Quentin held out his hand to Oliver. After a moment, Oliver reached out and took it. They stood there for a few moments before they dropped ands.

“It was good seeing you Detective,” Oliver said before walking off.

“You to Oliver,” Quentin called after him before lowering his voice. “Good luck.”

Arrow lair  
Night 

“Clearly, The Hoods don’t have a clear pattern,” Diggle noted as he, Oliver, and Felicity walked down into the lair.

“The way they moved, the way they operated-” Oliver started.

“They have military training, at least the leader does,” Diggle agreed and Oliver nodded.

“That narrows it down a bit,” Felicity said as she walked over to the computers.

“One of them, he held his gun like he had an injury. Cross reference for any veterans with injuries to their hands, arms, or wrists with hospital records of anyone who was affected by the quake,” Oliver ordered. 

It didn’t take long for Felicity to take a hit.

“Jeff Deneau. Ex-Marine, had a surgical amputation on his left hand,” Felicity told them.

“He lost it overseas?” Diggle asked. 

“No, in the earthquake,” Felicity said and it was silent for a moment. “Says here he and his wife were trying to make it across the 52nd Street Bridge when it collapsed. She didn’t make it.”

“Phone records please,” Oliver said lowly, pushing that aside for now. “I want to know who he’s talking to.”

“Says here he made a lot of calls to a church in The Glades, something called ‘Stranding Strong’. It’s a support group for those who lost loved ones in The Glades,” Felicity explained.

“Great way to meet three other guys as angry as you looking for a little payback,” Diggle noted.

Up above them, the club was in full swing. Roy brought over a tray of drinks and set them down, looking over at Thea.

“You okay?” Roy asked in concern. “You’ve been a hundred miles away all day.”

“I just…Ollie, for maybe the first time ever, is being completely honest with me. And I can’t do the same with him,” Thea said wrecked with guilt.

“What are you gonna say? That you know his secret because his future daughter brought us to the future? I don’t think that’s gonna go over well with him,” Roy pointed out.

“I just…I wish I could tell him everything. About Mia and Sara and Chase and everything else we learned,” Thea said with a sigh.

Roy opened his mouth to speak when, suddenly, there were shots going off. Everyone screamed in panic as Roy grabbed Thea, instinctively pulling her down to the ground as The Hoods made their way through the crowd, shooting off a few more rounds to quiet the crowd.

“Where is Oliver Queen?!” the leader shouted. “He’s back in town, he owns this dump. Where can we find him?”

In the lair, Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity looked up at the ceiling as they heard the shots. 

“Felicity, get me a visual, now,” Oliver ordered. 

Felicity immediately pulled up the feed from the club to reveal The Hoods. Oliver paled as he saw Thea and Roy in front of them.

Up above, the leader grew unsatisfied when no one moved.

“Alright, fine, plan B then,” he said before grabbing a random girl and throwing her onto the floor before taking aim at her. “I’m gonna start shooting people until Mr. Queen grows a pair.”

Before he could shoot however, Roy rushed him, tackling him to the ground. Roy then stood up and engaged another of the Hoods, grabbing him and throwing him to the ground. As the hood hit the ground, one of his hands came off, to Roy’s shock. As the Hood screamed in pain, Roy grabbed his gun when a scream pierced the air. Whirling around, Roy saw the leader had Thea, his arm around her as he pointed his gun at her head.

“Go ahead, try it hero,” the leader egged on. 

Suddenly, an arrow flew out and hit his gun, knocking it out of his hand. Every eye in the room looked up to see Oliver, dressed in his uniform aiming an arrow at the leader.

“Let. Her. Go,” Oliver growled.

The two remaining Hoods opened fire on him, forcing Oliver to take cover. The leader began trying to force a struggling Thea out as Roy tried to follow but one of the Hoods shot at him, forcing him to take cover as he looked at the terrified civilians, cursing his luck.

Then Oliver jumped down, grabbing the wrist of one of The Hoods and bending backwards. The Hood cried out as a crack was heard before Oliver threw him into a nearby table, which toppled over and he was knocked out as he hit a wall. Oliver then whirled around, firing at the second Hood. An arrow hit him in the shoulder and he cried out as he went down.

“You!” Oliver barked as he turned to Roy. “Don’t let them leave.” 

Without waiting for a response, Oliver stalked out, going after the leader and Thea. 

Outside, the leader was attempting to lead the struggling Thea out when an arrow sailed past them, hitting a car window near them.

“Let. Her. Go,” Oliver growled as he aimed at the leader.

“You wanna save her?! There was no justice for people like the Queens until you showed us how!” the leader snarled as he whirled around, Thea still in his arms.

“Taking innocent people hostage. Targeting unarmed civilians. Kidnapping a teenage girl. You call this justice?! You’re not a hero, you’re a thug,” Oliver growled. “Let her go.”

“You’ll have to kill me,” the leader sneered.

Calmly, Oliver let go of his draw string. The arrow flew out of his bow and struck the man’s jugular. Letting Thea go in shock, the man stumbled back before falling to the ground, dead.

“Ollie…” Thea trailed off, in shock.

Oliver walked passed her, over to the leader and picked up his limp boy, throwing him over his shoulder before walking back into the club.

As he walked back into the club, everyone looked up as he reentered. Roy had his gun aimed on Jeff Deneau as Oliver stopped in front of them, throwing down the lifeless body of the leader.

“You are going to send a message for me,” Oliver growled. “Make sure that everyone in this city knows the Queen family is under my protection. And should anymore so called vigilantes attempt to seek justice on the Queen family for their alleged crimes, I will find them and show them true justice.”

Unspecified location  
Later

A man was watching a news report on The hoods attacking Verdant when Isabel Rochev walked in.

“Looks like your plan worked,” Isabel said and the man chuckled.

“My plan has just begun,” the man said as he eyed footage of Oliver leaving the club. “Soon kid, we’ll meet again. Because I keep my promises kid.”

Queen Mansion  
Same time

Oliver was in his room, going over the list when the door opened. He looked up to see Thea walk in.

“Hey,” Oliver said as he closed the book and put it on his desk. “How are you doing?”

“Not every day you get kidnapped, but I think I’m doing okay, all things considered,” Thea said shakily as she looked up at her brother. “As grateful as I am, you realize you just painted a target on your back for every psycho with an axe to grind against our family.”

“I can handle them Speedy, I had to send a message,” Oliver said as he walked over to her. “I was not going to risk anymore Hoods coming after you. No one comes after my family. If anyone wants to try, they’ll have to go through me first.”

Thea looked up at him, feeling like, for the first time in her life, she was really seeing her brother for who he was. It was silent between them.

“So…Roy. What he did before I got there,” Oliver started and Thea shot him an annoyed look.

“Really, you’re gonna be mad at him for doing exactly what you do on a nightly basis?’ Thea asked annoyed.

“No. On the contrary, I was impressed by him,” Oliver said, surprising her. “He was brave, if a little reckless. With proper training, who knows, he might give me a run for my money.”

“You’re planning something, aren’t you?” Thea realized and Oliver only smirked.

“It’s been a long day Speedy, I’m gonna take a shower and head to bed. Night,” Oliver said cheekily before he turned and headed to his shower, leaving Thea staring after him, torn between amusement and exasperation.

Starling City Graveyard, next day  
Morning

Oliver was standing in front of Tommy’s grave, a look of sadness on his face when he heard someone behind him. Turning around, he smiled as he saw who it was.

“Hello Laurel,” Oliver greeted, happy to see her.

“Ollie, hi,” Laurel said and they hugged.

“You come here often?” Oliver asked as he pulled back.

“At least a few times a week,” Laurel said as they turned to face the grave. “So, you’ve been busy.”

“Isabel Rochev, The Hoods, I have a feeling I’m going to be busy for a while,” Oliver said with a slight smile and she nodded.

“That women I sent you to…did she help you?” Laurel asked gently, looking over at him and Oliver was silent for a few moments.

“She helped me move beyond my guilt. But move past his death? No. I don’t think I’ll ever get passed it,” Oliver said grimly. 

“Me neither, “Laurel said quietly as they looked at each for a moment, an understanding passing between them.

“The woman, she tells her students to move on, grow. Some do. But not me. Not us,” Oliver said calmly.

“Not us,” Laurel agreed as they took each other’s hand, staring down at Tommy’s grave sadly.

Iron Height  
Afternoon

Oliver was sitting in the visitors section as Moira walked in in a grey jumpsuit.

“I’m sorry I didn’t make it here sooner,” Oliver said as she sat down across from him. “Things have been busy.”

“I understand Oliver, you're here now, that's what matters.” Moira said as she took his hands. "but there are things you need to know, things I should have told you before.” "What kind of things?" Oliver asked wearily and Moira sighed. “Isabel Rochev. Do not trust that woman Oliver,” Moira warned him.

“She’s on the list,” Oliver said after a moment and Moira nodded. “Why?”

“She used to be an intern back when she was still in business school. She came to our company. The pretty intern who caught the CEO’s eye,” Moira said and Oliver realized what she was getting at.

“They were together,” Oliver whispered and she nodded.

“Your father was going to leave me, leave you and Thea, for her. Then Thea fell off her horse. It proved a wakeup call for him. He terminated her internship and never spoke to her again,” Moira explained and Oliver as silent as he processed this information.

“That’s why she’s so desperate to control our company, because he chose us over her,” Oliver realized and Moira nodded. “Thank you for telling me this. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”

“It was easily…compared to what I’m about to tell you next,” Moira sighed as Oliver looked at her confused. “I’m sorry Oliver. I should have told you this a very long time ago. I told myself I was protecting you…but I was really protecting myself.”

“Protecting me? Protecting me from what?” Oliver asked confused.

“Samantha Clayton. When she told you she lost the baby, that was a lie,” Moira said and watched as Oliver paled, staring at her in shock.

“N-No. Samantha, she wouldn’t lie to me about something like this,” Oliver stammered and Moira smiled tightly.

“Yes she would…because I paid her to,” Moira revealed and Oliver stared at her, shock and betrayal in his eyes. “When you told me about her, I arranged a meeting with her. I paid her one million dollars to tell you she lost the baby, leave Starling City and never come back.”

“Why would you do that?” Oliver asked lowly, staring at her like he had never seen her before.

“I thought I was protecting you. You know what you were like back then Oliver; I wasn’t sure what kind of father you would be. I’m so sorry Oliver,” Moira said as tears rushed down her face. “Please, say something, anything.”

For a long moment, Oliver simply stared at her silently. Then, with a face of stone, Oliver pried her hands off him and stood up. He turned around and walked out without a look back at her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that happened. That’s pretty much all I can say about that. Needless to say, Moira’s revelations are going to have some serious ripple effects for a while.


	4. Car trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver reels from Moira's confession as Roy attempts to stop the Triad from stealing medicine. Slade recruits an old enemy of Oliver's.

Iron Heights  
Afternoon

“So how are you doing?” Thea asked as she sat across from her mother in the visitor’s section. 

“I’ve been better,” Moira said with a weak smile. “Your brother visited me a few days ago.”

“Oh,” Thea said awkwardly, knowing where this was going. “How’d it go?”

“About as well as I expected. I told him everything. About Isabel Rochev and…William,” Moira said with a sigh.

“He just needs some time mom, he’ll come around,” Thea said but the words sounded hollow even to her own ears. 

“You didn’t see the look on his face. I’ve never seen him so angry and I don’t blame him. I honestly don’t think Oliver will ever forgive me…and I’m not sure I deserve his forgiveness,” Moira said with a sigh.

Arrow lair  
Same time 

Diggle groaned as he was thrown down on his back, Oliver standing over him.

“You’re almost making this too easy now,” Oliver said, offering Diggle a hand up.

“Well maybe that’s because you’re a lot better now. Wherever you went after The Undertaking, you picked up some new tricks there,” Diggle noted as he accepted Oliver’s hand and was pulled to his feet. “Must be some old friend you’ve got.”

“Trust me, you don’t want to meet them,” Oliver said vaguely.

“So why have you been so aggressive lately?” Diggle inquired.

“What happened with you and Carly?” Oliver deflected, almost smirking at the look of astonishment on Diggle’s face. “I see the look on your face every time I bring it up. What happened John?”

“I tell you, you tell me?” Diggle asked and Oliver shrugged. “We decided to put a pin in things.”

“Couldn’t handle living the double life?” Oliver asked with a little guilt and Diggle shook his head.

“It wasn’t that, well, not just that,” Diggle said and Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Another man came between us: Deadshot. My brother’s killer, still out there, still breathing. I guess I couldn’t hate him and love her at the same time.”

“I’m sorry John,” Oliver said quietly as Diggle sighed.

“It wasn’t your fault Oliver, it was mine. Nothing you could have done about it. So what’s been bothering you?” Diggle asked and Oliver was silent for a few moments.

“I went to see my mom,” Oliver said finally. “She told me something, something she’s been keeping from me for years, since before the Gambit.”

“She was part of a conspiracy to destroy The Glades. What else could she have been keeping from you?” Diggle asked and Oliver smiled tightly. “That bad?”

“Sara…she wasn’t the first girl I cheated on Laurel with,” Oliver admitted without looking at Diggle. “About a year before the Gambit, Laurel and I were at this party where we got into this fight, I don’t even remember about what at this point. She left and the rest of the night is kind of a blur after that. The next morning, I woke up in bed with Samantha Clayton.”

“Okay, that’s pretty bad, but what does that have to do with anything?” Diggle asked, not sure why this was bothering Oliver.

“About a month and a half later, she called me, told me she was pregnant,” Oliver said, finally looking at Diggle, his blue eyes meeting Diggle’s shocked brown orbs. “I told my mom and less than a week later, Samantha called me, told me she lost the baby. But it was a lie, all of it. My mom told me she paid Samantha a million dollars to lie to me, move to Central City and never come back.”

“You mean…” Diggle trailed off as Oliver nodded.

“I did some research that night; Samantha gave birth to a boy named William almost seven months after moving to Central City. It tracks with what my mom told me,” Oliver said with a humorless chuckle. “I have a son I never knew about. I’m a dad John.”

“I’d say congratulations, but I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Diggle said once he got over the shock. “What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver admitted with a sigh. “The only reason I haven’t gone to confront Samantha is because of who I am. Not just Oliver Queen, but The Hood as well. Both sides of me come with all this baggage. Do I have any right to bring all that into William’s life?”

“A boy deserves to know his father Oliver,” Diggle said simply. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but, for the record, any boy would be lucky to have you as his father.”

Starling City  
Night 

A FEMA truck was driving down the road when two bikers drove up behind it. As they began harassing the truck, a red mustang pulled up behind them. From behind the wheel, Roy pulled to the side and turned his headlights on. Blinded by the light, one of the bikers swerved and crashed into a parked car. 

Smirking, Roy continued pursuing the remaining biker. Seeing Roy, the remaining biker turned around and headed for him. Roy whirled his car around and gunned it, heading straight for the biker. Suddenly, the biker pulled out a gun and opened fire and a barrage of bullets hit Roy’s car, causing sparks that blinded him. When it faded, Roy saw he was in front of some unused road signs that he couldn’t avoid. Roy’s car flew into the air before landing with a crash.

Not far away, the truck was heading down the road until the driver spotted a figure down the road. Whirling two knives, China White threw them and they went through the windshield, killing the driver and his passenger.

As the biker and White began taking the truck, Roy crawled out of his mustang, injured, and looked up to see three cops surrounding him.

“Just so you know, the real bad guys are getting away!" Roy snapped.

They paid him no mind and he was pulled to his feet roughly as he was cuffed.

Verdant  
Not long after

“So how’s your night going?” Thea asked as she made her way over to Oliver. “Your list getting any shorter?”

“Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow,” Oliver said and she nodded in understanding.

“So, mom mentioned you saw her a few days ago,” Thea said casually and Oliver nodded stiffly. “What happened? It clearly didn’t go well.”

“She told me something she lied to me about, something I had every right to know,” Oliver said an under tone of anger entering his voice.

“Are you two gonna be okay?” Thea asked carefully, already knowing what he was so angry about.

“I don’t know,” Oliver said honestly.

Before Thea could respond, her phone rang. Pulling it out, she frowned as she saw it was a number she didn’t recognize.

“Hello…Yes, this is she…of course that’s where he is,” Thea said with a sigh.

Starling City Police Department  
Later

“Maybe you should leave the vigilante-ing to The Hood,” Laurel said as she sat across from Roy in the interrogation room. “You’re clearly not very good at it.”

“I know a biker who’d beg to differ,” Roy shot back.

Laurel internally sighed as she saw the amusement dancing in his eyes. The two of them both knew this was for show but Roy was clearly taking far more amusement out of this than she was. 

“So, are you gonna charge me with something or not?” Roy asked bored.

“I could, if I wanted to,” Laurel pointed out.

“But you don’t,” Roy said knowingly and Laurel barely resisted the urge to start banging her head on the table.

Not long after that, the door opened as Laurel and Roy walked out to find Oliver and Thea waiting on the other side.

“Are you okay?!” Thea exclaimed worriedly, rushing over to Roy as she saw how banged up his face was.

“I’m fine,” Roy quickly assured her. “I just got into a fight with a steering wheel.”

“By playing vigilante,” Laurel interjected and Roy almost winced at the look on Thea’s face. “We’re not pressing charges, so long as he gives up playing Hood Jr.”

“Might as well as ask him to stop breathing,” Thea muttered as she began to drag Roy off, leaving Oliver and Laurel behind.

“He’s a good kid you know,” Laurel mentioned.

“That would be so much more impactful if we hadn’t just come prepared with an attorney,” Oliver said dryly and Laurel chuckled.

“He just really cares about this city and the people in it. Wants to make it a better place. Remind you of anyone?” Laurel asked with a pointed look over at Oliver before frowning. “Are you okay? You seem pretty on edge.”

“I’m just dealing with some stuff. Thank you for bailing Roy out,” Oliver told her before walking out.

He met Thea and Roy by the car, Diggle standing guard in case something happened. Which, given how the city felt about the Queens these days, was probably a good idea.

“So Roy, can we give you a lift to the hospital?” Oliver asked as he reached them.

“I’ll pass. I’m better off dead than in a hospital,” Roy said and three pairs of eyes looked at him confused. “Stopped by Glades Memorial lately?”

“No, but I heard that it wasn’t hit in the quake,” Oliver said, confused about Roy’s attitude.

“Yeah, but someone’s been hijacking the FEMA trucks that have been delivering the medicine,” Roy explained and Oliver started.

“Who?” Oliver asked lowly.

“I don’t know, I heard the cops say something about a white haired woman caught on traffic cams,” Roy said and Oliver started.

“A white haired woman, you’re sure?” Oliver demanded as Roy, Thea, and Diggle looked at him oddly.

“Ollie?” Thea asked but she was ignored as all of Oliver’s attention was on Roy.

“Yeah. Why?” Roy asked confused by Oliver’s reaction.

“It’s nothing,” Oliver lied, not that any of them believed him. “How about we get you home Roy, you should probably lay down.”

Arrow lair  
Later

“So someone’s stealing medicine from Glades Memorial? Just when I thought criminals couldn’t sink any lower,” Felicity said as Oliver and Diggle made their way down to the lair.

“It’s not criminals, it’s the Triad,” Oliver said and Felicity looked over her shoulder at him.

“What makes you say that?” she asked.

“Thea’s boyfriend said he heard the police talking about a white haired woman,” Diggle started.

“And I don’t know too many white haired women in Starling City that are involved in this kind of crime,” Oliver said grimly.

“Why are you so sure it’s the Triad?” Diggle asked suspiciously.

“China White and I have a history, I know how she works. Something like this is just up her alley,” Oliver said grimly. 

Unspecified location  
Same time

China White stared in shock as all her men were on the floor, unconscious. They had been beaten, savagely. And in a chair, sitting calmly at the table, was a dark haired man with a matching beard, an eyepatch over one eye. He was dressed in an orange and blue suit with two swords strapped to his back, a helmet on the table.

“Chien Na Wei,” he said with an Australian accent as he regarded her calmly. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time.”

“Who the hell are you?” White demanded, feeling for her knives.

“If I wanted you dead, I could kill you where you stand without even getting up,” he said and she stopped. “My name is Slade Wilson. And we have a common enemy: The Vigilante.”

“I can handle him,” White said confidently and Slade chuckled.

“I sincerely doubt that. If you could ‘handle’ him, he would already be dead,” Slade said as he got to his feet. “But I can give you an advantage.”

“What kind of advantage?” White asked as she raised an eyebrow, clearly interested.

“I can tell you his name. You already know it, you simply have not connected the dots,” Slade said, smirking as he saw the look of confusion and frustration grow on her face. “His name…is Oliver Queen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, but I love cliffhangers. And its stupid how China White never put together that it was Oliver under the hood.


	5. Ultimatums

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he tries to track the Triad, Oliver gives Felicity a ultimatum. China White disobeys Slade and suffers the consequences.

Queen Consolidated  
Afternoon

“So how are things in Glades Memorial?” Oliver said as he walked down the hall towards his office, talking on his phone with Diggle.

“Bad. Roy’s right, this place is standing on its last leg,” Diggle said and Oliver frowned. “We need to stop the Triad, quickly.”

“We will, once we find China White,” Oliver promised before he saw Isabel Rochev storming over to him. “Got a go. I have a pest to deal with.”

“How did you do it?” Isabel demanded as she reached him.

“Do what?” Oliver asked, playing innocent. 

“The remaining shares of the company went up for auction this morning. My people were on their way to buy them when they were assaulted by three armed men with Russian accents,” Isabel said angrily.

“And you think I had something to do with that?” Oliver asked with a straight face. “What connection could I possibly have with Russians?”

“You were involved somehow. I don’t know how, but you were involved,” Isabel accused.

“And you have proof of this?” Oliver inquired and Isabel was silent, making it difficult for Oliver to fight the smirk that threatened to cross his face. “Well, in any case, I bought the remaining shares of the company. Now, if my math is right, that leaves me with fifty five percent ownership of this company. So, I guess that makes us partners.”

“You’re not at all what people say about you,” Isabel said, seeming to regain control of herself.

“Most people fail to see the real me. Now, I have a lot of work to do, so if you’ll excuse me,” Oliver said as he made his way into office.

“I quit,” Felicity said as he entered his office to find her there. “Not my old job in the IT department, but my new job as your executive assistant you think I am going to accept.”

“Felicity, I’m CEO now. The CEO can’t head down to the IT department every time we need to discuss how we spend our nights,” Oliver pointed out but Felicity was on a roll.

“Did you know I went to MIT? Guess what I majored in? Not the secretarial arts,” Felicity said.

“Do you think you are the only one who has had to sacrifice something?!” Oliver finally snapped, making Felicity jump back, startled. “Last year, I put my relationships with everyone I loved, lost my relationship with my best friend, in order to be The Hood. Diggle lost Carly because of it. If you can’t find it in yourself to sacrifice anything…maybe we shouldn’t work together anymore.”

“What?” Felicity asked shocked.

“Since the day you joined up, I’ve never asked you for anything. Well, I’m giving you a choice now: You can either work with me and Diggle, or you can keep your job in the IT department. I’ll give you until tonight to decide,” Oliver said as he walked over to his desk. “If you choose your job, don’t bother coming to the club tonight.”

Unspecified location  
Same time

“I look forward to working together,” Slade said, sitting at his desk as China White stood in front of it.

“As do I. I look forward to making Oliver Queen suffer,” White said with a smirk. 

“As do I. But it would be a mistake to underestimate him. So I would advise you to cease and desist your raids of the FEMA trucks,” Slade said as he leaned back in his chair.

“Of course,” China White said with a smirk. “Anything for a friend.”

Verdant  
Same time

Roy was putting some boxes of liquor in the storage room when Thea walked in.

“We need to talk,” Thea said and Roy sighed.

“Well, can’t say I didn’t see this coming,” Roy said sarcastically as he turned around to face Thea. “You have an issue with me going out at night.”

“Yeah, do. I wanted Laurel to arrest you,” Thea snapped and Roy was silent, staring at her incredulously.

“So it’s okay for your brother to go out at night to save the city, but not me?” Roy asked after a moment.

“That is not the same thing and you know it. He has been trained to do this, you haven’t. And even though I know it, every night, I have a pit in my stomach because I’m worried that tonight is the night my brother goes up against someone he can’t handle,” Thea said emotionally and Roy’s eyes softened. “I can’t worry about you and him at the same time Roy.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t like making you worry,” Roy said remorsefully.

“Then stop, please,” Thea pleaded as she walked up to him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t,” Roy said and Thea stared at him incredulously. “The Glades, they’re my home. I know I don’t have Oliver’s skills, but if I can help make it a little safer, even just a little bit, then I’m going to do it. This is who I am Thea. I love you…but I love my home to. You can’t expect me to just turn my back on it. I will do anything for you…but not that. If you can’t accept that…you can’t accept me. And I can’t be with someone like that.”

“Are-are you breaking up with me?” Thea stammered as the room as suddenly filled with a tense silence.

“I don’t know,” Roy said after a moment. “But I have a few vacation days set up. I’m gonna use them, I need time to think. Please, don’t call me…I need space.”

Roy then leaned over, kissing her on the cheek before walking out, leaving Thea to wonder what had just happened. 

Arrow lair  
Night

Oliver was on the computer, looking over something when Diggle walked up behind him. 

“Been a while since I saw you sitting there,” Diggle noted. “Where’s Felicity?”

“FEMA is sending out another shipment of medicine to Glades Memorial tonight,” Oliver said, dodging Diggle's question.

“Not if The Triad has anything to say about it,” Diggle noted.

“Well, I’m sure The Vigilante has something to say about it,” Felicity said as she walked down the stairs.

“You’re late,” Diggle noted and Felicity nodded.

“I know,” Felicity said before looking at Oliver “I’m sorry.”

“Honestly wasn’t sure you were going to show,” Oliver noted.

“Neither was I,” Felicity admitted. “But I realized that I was being selfish. It’s not about me, it’s about the city. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. If there was another way, I wouldn’t have asked this of you,” Oliver said, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry that you have to give up something that you earned and deserve.”

“If I wasn’t okay with that, I wouldn’t be here,” Felicity said and Oliver nodded. “So, are you gonna go be a hero or what?”

Starling City  
Later

Two FEMA workers were loading up the truck when two men on motorcycles rode up; opening fire on them. One of the workers was hit, dying from the barrage of bullets. The other took cover between the trucks as the two men got off their motorcycles.

“No, please, don’t,” the worker begged as they approached him.

“Down!”

Without thought, the worker obeyed, dropping to the ground. Behind him, Oliver fired two arrows, getting the two men in the shoulder.

“Make your delivery,” Oliver barked.

The worker didn’t need to be told twice, rushing to the truck. However, as he got inside, he was hit with a knife in his throat, killing him almost instantly, to Oliver’s horror.

“I feared you’d perished n the quake,” Oliver tensed as China White walked into view, twirling a knife. “Denying me my revenge. I’m glad you’re still alive…Oliver.” she smirked as he tensed. “I’m not sure how I didn’t put it together sooner. It’s time for you to pay for Hong Kong and your past interference in my business.”

“Your business is going under, permanently,” Oliver growled, knowing he couldn’t let her live now that she knew his secret. 

Oliver fired but, at that moment, a dark skinned man with bronze claws jumped down from the roof of the truck, using the claws to glide down. Once on the ground, he used his claws to deflect the arrow.

“I don’t think my new partner agrees with you,” White said smugly as Oliver stared at them impassively. “Our partnership was easily cemented. You see, I was eager to see you dead and he was eager to kill you.” 

Angrily, Oliver fired at the clawed man but he used his claws to deflect it before rushing Oliver. Oliver used his bow to deflect the man’s claws and they began trading blows as White got in the truck and began driving off. As Oliver manage to back the clawed man against a truck, sirens blared as various police cruisers rolled up. However, rather than going after the truck White had taken, they got out and trained their guns on Oliver and the clawed man.

“Starling City Police, we have you surrounded. Put down your weapons or we will open fire!” Pike ordered.

Oliver and the clawed man froze, both weighing their options. Then the clawed man pushed back against Oliver and he jumped out of the way. The man’s claws struck a steam pipe and a mist flowed through the area. The police opened fire and Oliver and the clawed man ran, their feud put aside. Oliver threw down a smoke bomb before firing an arrow with a line, using the smokescreen to get away.

Arrow lair  
Later

After extracting the bullets the SCPD had hit him with, Oliver was stitching himself up as Diggle and Felicity watched.

“Does it hurt?” Felicity asked hesitantly.

“Not as much as some things,” Oliver said as he finished, remembering his torture aboard the Amazo.

“I love that we live in a city where the police are more interested in catching you than the drug stealing mobsters. Our tax dollars at work,” Felicity said disgusted.

“The police have always gone after the vigilante,” Diggle pointed out.

“This time was different,” Oliver said as they turned their attention back to him. “They got in my way. And that’s not the only thing that’s bothering me. China White, she knows who I am.”

“What?” Felicity yelped as she and Diggle looked stunned.

“How is that possible?” Diggle questioned and Oliver smiled tightly.

“Like I said, she and I have an unpleasant history. I guess I was foolish to think she would never work it out. But I wouldn’t put it passed her to go after the people in my life. My mother is safe in Iron Heights, but Thea-” 

“I’ll keep tabs on her,” Diggle promised and Oliver nodded in gratitude. 

“Felicity, I want you to keep close to me for now. No one is safe until China White is in the ground,” Oliver said grimly.

Triad safe house  
Later

The clawed man, Ben Turner, was pacing back and forth as White and some of her men watched.

“I came here because you said he was a hunter, that he’d give me something I always wanted: a challenge,” Turner sneered. “But he ran from the police.”

“Don’t underestimate him,” White warned him.

Whatever else she was going to say was cut off when one of her men gasped, a sword suddenly bursting from his chest. Turner, White, and the other man jumped back as Slade removed his blood stained sword and the man fell to the ground, dead.

“She’s not wrong,” Slade said, his voice muffled slightly by his helmet.

Slade then whirled, cutting the other man across the chest, killing him instantly. Turner rushed him but Slade easily dodged his strikes before swinging his sword, cutting off Turner’s hands before Slade him through the chest, killing him. White tried to run before Slade quickly gabbed her, slamming her down onto the floor as he placed is sword, now dripping with blood, at her neck.

“I believe there has been a misunderstanding. When I give you an order, you will follow it,” Slade said calmly, his one eyes staring into her terrified eyes. “You disobeyed me and worse, you let Oliver Queen know you know who he is under that hood.” 

For a moment, White thought he was going to kill her. But then, he stood up, lowering his sword to his side, to her relief.

“You have created a problem Chien Na Wei. I will deal with it. Your disobedience has cost three men their lives. Next time, it will cost you yours. Do not disobey me again,” Slade warned her before he left the room, leaving White wondering what she had gotten herself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought Felicity was pretty good in season two, but this is one of the few times she annoyed me in the season. To an extent, I can understand why she was upset, but it seems like Felicity never thought she’d have to sacrifice anything other than spending her nights behind a computer in the lair. And the fact that she threw a temper tantrum throughout the episode, even dragging Diggle into it, makes it hard for me to have much sympathy for her. In short, she just came off as very selfish.
> 
> Now, I’m a big fan of the Roy/Thea relationship, but one thing that has always annoyed me about it is Thea’s reaction to Roy going out to fight off thugs in the Glades. The Glades are Roy’s home, and I can understand that Thea was worried for Roy’s safety, but it’s like she just expected Roy to turn his back on his home. And it’s worse that the show treats it like Thea is right when she’s really not.


	6. The calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slade deals with China White's blunder. Roy comes to a decision about his relationship with Thea as Oliver heads to Central City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly a filler but I do hope you guys enjoy it anyway.

Queen Mansion  
Morning

Oliver walked into the living room, seeing Thea sitting on the couch. As he entered, he noticed the red around his sister’s eyes. She’d been crying, he realized.

“Everything okay Speedy?” Oliver asked and Thea wiped her eyes before she answered.

“Roy and I…we had a fight,” Thea admitted.

“Do I need to kill him?” Oliver asked, only half joking and Thea let out a sound that was a mix between a laugh and a sob.

“No. I just…I want him to stop but…I can’t change him, any more than I can change you. I don’t want to. But I can’t sit up at night, worrying that I’ll get that call that he’s in some sort of trouble he couldn’t get out of,” Thea vented.

Olive frowned but, before he could say anything, his attention was drawn by the news report.

“Breaking news. Last night, in the warehouse district, a fire fight broke out, leaving several dead. Among the casualties was Chinese Triad Assassin China White.”

Unspecified location  
Same time

Slade was sitting in his chair, watching the news report with a smirk as Isobel walked up to him.

“How’d you get a body that was an exact replica for Chien Na Wei so quickly?” Isobel asked curiously.

“You’re assuming this was a split second decision. I knew she would not stand down at first. She required a firmer hand,” Slade said with a smirk. “It just required the proper plastic surgery. And the ME was easily bribed.” 

“And now Oliver thinks that China White is dead. Well played,” Isobel said, impressed. “I wish I could report better news. I failed to acquire the last shares of Queen Consolidated. My men were assaulted by men with Russian accents. I know Oliver is involved.”

“I recall that one of the prisoners on the Amazo was Russian,” Slade noted before shaking his head. “Either way, it matters not. For now, you will monitor Oliver’s activities closely. And then, while his guard is down, we will strike.”

Starling City  
Not long after

In his apartment, Quentin was going over some files when his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw ‘unknown umber’ flash across the screen. Frowning, Quentin answered.

“Hello?” 

“Detective,” The Hood’s modulated voice spoke to him.

“Where ya been?” Quentin asked casually. “You don’t call, you don’t write.”

“China White, was she among the casualties of the fire fight?” Oliver demanded.

“Yeah, she was. Department thinks that Bertinelli’s crew came after her for revenge for the attack on his house last year,” Quentin explained.

“And what do you think?” Oliver demanded.

“I don’t know. But either way, it looks she was killed. What’s it to you?” Quentin inquired.

Quentin’s only response was the dial tone.

Arrow lair  
Mid-morning

“So China White gets taken out by a rival gangster? Seems anti-climactic,” Felicity mentioned as she, Oliver and Diggle stood in the lair.

“Either way, it’s a good thing. Now Glades Memorial will be in better shape,” Oliver said before grabbing his jacket. “I’m gonna be out of town for a few days. I have some business to take care of in Central City.”

“What kind of business?” Felicity asked confused but Diggle’s eyes widened in realization as he understood what Oliver was saying. 

“The personal kind,” Oliver said vaguely. “If you need me for anything, call me on my cell.”

“Oliver,” Diggle called out and Oliver looked over at him. “Good luck.”

Oliver simply nodded; having a feeling he’d need it.

Verdant  
Night

The club was in full swing, music blaring as the clubbers danced the night away. Thea was standing by the bar when she spotted someone making his way through the crowd. She stared, shocked, as Roy made his way over to her.

“Hey, can we talk…privately?” Roy asked, not wanting to do this with music blaring in their ears.

Thea nodded mutely. She hadn’t expected to see him for another few days and she honestly wasn’t sure whether him being here was a good or bad thing. She led him off the lower level and into her office. She turned around to face him as the next words out of Roy’s mouth stunned her.

“I quit,” Roy said and she stared at him, not comprehending what he was saying.

“What?” Thea asked shocked.

“I quit,” Roy repeated. “I can’t do this anymore Thea. You say that you can’t worry about me and your brother at the same time. But I have to be true to who I am. If it’s a choice between you and my home, my home will win, every time.”

“Well then, I guess you made your choice,” Thea said, tears filling her eyes.

“Yeah, I guess I have,” Roy said lowly, hating hurting her but knowing there wasn’t any other way. “I’ll be by in a few days to pick up my las paycheck.” 

Roy then turned and walked out, each step causing him to feel more pain than he’d ever known. But he had, he had to hurt her now to save her more pain down the line. 

Once the door closed behind him, Thea collapsed into her desk chair, putting her hand to her face as she began to sob. 

Central City, next day  
Morning

Oliver walked up the sidewalk, towards the house he knew Samantha and William lived. He stopped at the gate, staring at the house. He knew that, once he walked up and knocked on the door, his life would change forever. Taking a calming breath, Oliver walked up to the front door and knocked. After a few moments, the door opened to reveal the shocked face of Samantha Clayton. 

“Oliver?” she asked surprised.

“I know Samantha. My mom told me everything,” Oliver said bluntly and Samantha paled. “I wanna see him.”

“Just calm down, okay? Keep your voice down,” Samantha hissed, even as she stepped aside so he could enter the house. “He’s in the backyard. Just… I never expected Moira to tell you.”

“Well, when you’re guilty of being complacent in mass murder, telling your son that you bribed the girl carrying your child to tell you she lost the baby seems pretty small,” Oliver said sarcastically. 

“I never cashed the check,” Samantha assured him and he looked at her surprised. “I knew I never wanted that woman around my son.”

“I agree,” Oliver said, taking Samantha back.

“What?” she asked, sure she had misheard him.

“I don’t want my mother around William either,” Oliver said.

“I…wasn’t expecting that,” Samantha said after a moment.

“When I found out about William, I realized that this is what my mother does: she lies to people, telling herself it’s to protect them. But really, it’s to protect herself,” Oliver paused, wondering if he was the same way before continuing. “I don’t want her anywhere near my son. But I want to be part of his life. And I am prepared to take you to court if that’s what it takes.”

“It’s funny. Just last week, William asked me why he didn’t have a dad,” Samantha said after a moment.

“What’d you tell him?” Oliver asked curiously. 

“I told him his dad was far away, that he wanted to be with him but couldn’t,” Samantha said. “I planned to tell him when he was older.”

“Samantha…I’m not the person I was seven years ago,” Oliver said and she nodded. 

“I know…but can you tell me your life is any less chaotic?” Samantha asked and Oliver was silent. “If you want to be part of his life, he can’t know you’re his father. And you can’t tell anyone about him either.”

Part of Oliver wanted to protest, to argue with her on this point. But the more rational part of him could see her point. His family was now associated with Malcolm Merlyn’s Undertaking, with the deaths of over five hundred people. Not to mention the double life he led as The Hood. 

“Okay,” Oliver said after a moment. “I’ll go along with this…for now.”

“Thank you,” Samantha said. “Come on.”

Oliver then followed Samantha as she led him through the house and to a door at the back. She opened it, leading Oliver into the backyard. A young boy, almost seven, was throwing a baseball, trying to hit a target, missing by a few inches. The boy groaned in frustration as Oliver studied him.

He had Samantha’s hair and eyes but his face, the frustrated look he bore; there was little doubt that he was Oliver’s son.

“Raise your arm a little higher,” Oliver called out and William jumped, turning around to face him. “You’re missing because your arm isn’t long enough. You need to compensate by raising it.”

William looked at Samantha unsure but she just gave him an encouraging smile. Hesitantly, William picked the ball and followed Oliver’s instructions. Raising his arm slightly, William threw the ball and it hit his mark this time.

“Thanks Mister,” William said as he picked up the ball and looked over at Oliver.

“William, this is Oliver. He’s an old friend,” Samantha said as she glanced between father and son.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Oliver,” William said and Oliver smiled weakly.

“It’s nice to meet you two,” Oliver said, swallowing past the lump in his throat. “I was hoping it would be okay if I dropped in to say hello once in a while.”

“Sure,” William said before holding out the ball to Oliver. “Wanna play?”

Oliver simply smiled as he walked over and accepted the ball. It wasn’t much right now, but it was something. For right now, Oliver would simply be content to play ball with his son.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is not going to be an easy ride for Roy and Thea. I do plan for them to find their way back to each other, but it’s not gonna be easy or anytime soon. 
> 
> Stay safe from the virus everyone.


	7. A partnership is formed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Oliver returns to his roots, Quentin faces a blast from his past.

Starling City  
Night

James Midas was in his loft apartment, talking on the phone when, suddenly, the lights went out and Midas heard the dial tone, his phone having been disconnected somehow.

“James Midas.” 

Midas paled as he heard the modulated voice speak up behind him. Midas turned around to see The Hood was there, his bow in hand, an arrow notched and aimed at him.

“You have failed this city,” The Hood told him.

“My security will be here any minute,” Midas bluffed, hoping it would scare The Hood off.

“They’re taking a nap,” The Hood said and Midas paled even more. “How many people have you swindled out of their savings, how many!?”

“Those people knew what they were getting into when they signed up with me,” Midas tried to justify.

The Hood let go of the draw string and the arrow flew into Midas’ shoulder. Midas cried in pain as The Hood stalked over, grabbing Midas and slamming him against the wall, hard.

“Your connections to people like Councilman Pollard have prevented you from facing justice for your crimes, so now you’ll face a different kind of justice,” Oliver growled. 

“Please! Please, I-” Midas suddenly cried out as Oliver grabbed the arrowhead and twisted it violently.

“Quiet! You will give everyone you’ve stolen from their money back. If you don’t, I’ll be back to take it. And you won’t like how,” Oliver growled.

Oliver then yanked the arrow out of Midas’ shoulder and tossed him to the ground. Clutching his wounded shoulder, Midas looked around wildly for the vigilante, but Oliver was gone.

Outside the building, as Oliver used a zip line to escape, he was unaware someone was watching him. For a few rooftops over, Sara Lance watched the scene.

“Things certainly have changed,” she muttered.

Quentin’s apartment, next day  
Morning

“Although Mr. Midas claims that it was always his intention to return the money to his clients, sources say that he was coerced by the vigilante known as The Hood,” a reporter on the television said.

“Well, at least Oliver’s having better luck than us,” Roy noted as he took a sip of coffee.

Quentin ignored him, staring at the evidence board he and Roy had made over the last three months. There were lines and lines of leads, but it hadn’t gotten them anywhere. Angrily, Quentin struck it, knocking it ono the floor.

“I can’t believe we haven’t been able to find him,” Quentin said in frustration.

“He may not have the skill to take on Oliver yet, but he’s smart, I’ll give him that,” Roy noted as he placed his coffee on the table. “Detective, I think we need to face the fact that we’ll never find him.”

“We can’t just give up, not with everything we saw!” Quentin snapped and Roy held up his hands defensively. 

“I’m not saying we give up, just that we try it another way,” Roy said and Quentin raised an eyebrow. “I think we need to bring in Oliver.”

“And tell him what, that we know who he is because his future daughter brought us to the future?” Quentin asked sarcastically.

“I’m not saying tell him everything, just about Chase. We’ve tried it your way; we’ve tried to find him and haven’t found anything. Besides, what are you gonna do if we find him? Are you prepared to take a life not in self-defense, but cold looked murder?” Roy asked and Quentin was silent, not having an answer. “Oliver has connections; he can go places we can’t.”

“Places we won’t,” Quentin muttered, remembering Oliver’s phone call from Christmas and Roy nodded.

“Plus, I highly doubt killing Chase is something Oliver will lose sleep over,” Roy added and Quentin was silent for a few moments.

“Let me think about it for a few days,” Quentin finally said. “In the meantime, I have a job to get to.”

Queen Consolidated   
Afternoon

“Rochev looks pretty steamed,” Felicity mentioned as Oliver walked into his office.

“Well, she’d love for me to appear incompetent to the board. I imagine them liking my proposal on helping out The Glades with a benefit did not make her happy,” Oliver noted dryly.

“What is it with you two? I mean, you go at it like dogs,” Felicity asked but Oliver ignored her.

“Do I have any more meetings today?” Oliver asked instead.

Felicity knew he already knew, but was side stepping the issue. One step forward, two steps back, Felicity thought as she fought the urge to sigh.

“Just the one for tonight. So who are we going after tonight?” Felicity inquired.

“Emily Pollard,” Oliver said simply and she started.

“The City Councilman?” Felicity asked and he nodded. “What did she do to get on the list?”

“While on the surface she may appear to be someone who stands up for the rights afforded to us by the constitution, she has connections to people like James Midas. She uses those connections to further her own political agenda while helping her criminal contacts remain untouchable by the law,” Oliver explained as he sat down in his chair.

“So basically, she’s Starling City’s version of the Clintons,” Felicity muttered and Oliver lips twitched.

“Something like that. She’s been able to use her connections to quiet any rumors of her involvement in the criminal underworld,” Oliver said.

“She hasn’t faced the vigilante yet,” Felicity said and Oliver nodded.

“Her connections won’t do her any good this time,” Oliver said grimly as he stared at the screen on his computer, which had Pollard’s face on it.

Starling City  
Same time

Quentin was on his way back to his car after buying lunch when his radio buzzed with activity.

“All units, 10-78 at Second and Fletcher. Please respond, over.”

“Lance, Patrol. Delta Charlie 52, 10-60. Officer responding, over,” Quentin said as he threw his dog away and got in.

“Negative DC-52, disregard 10-78 and resume patrol,” the dispatcher said and Quentin paused, confused. 

“According to whose orders?” Quentin demanded.

“Lieutenant Pike’s,” the dispatcher said and Quentin sat there, in stunned disbelief.

Later, Quentin made his way through the crime scene when he saw his old partner, Lucas Hilton, making his way over to him.

“What the hell is going on? This is my beat, why does Pike want me off it?” Quentin demanded.

“It’s under control Quentin,” Hilton tried to dissuade him.

“Excuse me, what is under control?” Quentin demanded before he stopped dead.

Standing a few feet from him was a scene that was extremely familiar to him. A young girl, no older than Sara had been when she went on the Gambit, was tied up, dressed like doll. She was clearly dead. Only one thought went through Quentin’s mind.

“Barton Mathis,” Quentin breathed.

“That seems to be what the MO indicates,” Hilton said, realizing there was no point in hiding it.

“He’s serving consecutive life sentences at Iron Heights!” Quentin shouted, his mind whirling.

“Not anymore,” Hilton said and Quentin looked at him sharply. “Quake split open a section of Iron Heights. Mathis was among the escapees. Brass wanted to avoid panic, so they’re keeping it quiet.” 

“Are they keeping it quiet from me to?” Quentin demanded. 

“Pike knows what this did to you last time, Mathis got in your head,” Hilton said.

“And I caught him! No one knows Mathis better,” Quentin argued. 

“And I’ve got all your notes and your files. Pike’s orders,” Hilton said gently. “If you go anywhere near this, he’ll arrest you for obstruction.” 

Angrily, Quentin stormed off. Before he did, he looked back at the dead girl. No matter what Pike said, he couldn’t walk away from this.

Arrow lair  
Night 

“You sure you don’t want backup? Pollard’s a city councilman, she’ll have a lot of security,” Diggle pointed out as he and Felicity watched Oliver suit up. 

“Which is why having the bodyguard of the new CIA of Queen Consolidated is not a good idea. I appreciate the offer John, but I can handle it,” Oliver assured him before Felicity’s phone rang.

Picking it up, Felicity stared at it in shock for a second before answering.

“Detective,” Felicity said in greeting, causing both of her teammates to look at her sharply.

Starling City  
Later

Quentin walked onto a rooftop, a file in hand. On a ledge, Oliver, in his suit, was staring down at him.

“So Felicity Smoak gives you a way to contact me now,” Oliver noted. 

“She says you wanna help the people in this city,” Quentin said.

“Do you believe her?” Oliver asked and Quentin paused, trying to be convincing but not wanting to give away that he knew.

“This city is hurting. And the police…I always thought we didn’t need to go outside the law to find justice. But after the quake, I’m not so sure anymore,” Quentin said as he placed the file on a vent. “Barton Mathis. The Media calls him The Doll Maker because he suffocates his victims with a flexible polymer that he pours down their throats and then dresses them up like dolls. I put him away but now because of the quake, he’s back on the streets and killing again.”

As Quentin spoke, Oliver picked up the file and began looking through it, becoming more and more horrified as he saw the pictures of Mathis’ victims.

“These are from six years ago,” Oliver said as he noticed the time stamp.

“Those are from my personal files,” Quentin said and Oliver raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe the files not the only thing that’s personal,” Oliver said pointedly.

“Mathis killed eight girls before I caught him last time. I don’t want any more on my conscience,” Quentin snapped. 

“So why not let the police do their jobs?” Oliver asked and Quentin scoffed.

“I could ask you the same question,” Quentin said and Oliver nodded, conceding his point. “They’re spread so thin, they can’t even risk letting the public know Mathis is out.”

“So you came to me,” Oliver noted. “I thought you believed I was a killer.”

“Yeah, well, I’m seeing things a lot less black and white these days,” Quentin said as he walked up to Oliver. “Maybe you and I aren’t as different as I used to think. Felicity Smoak, she thinks you want to help this city. Well, I’m willing to be convinced. On one condition. I want Mathis alive.”

Oliver was silent for a moment, then he held a hand out to Quentin, and Quentin took it in a handshake. Just like that, a partnership had been formed.

Elsewhere in Starling City, a young woman got in her car after buying some beauty supplies when she was suddenly grabbed from behind, a hand covering her mouth.

“You have such beautiful skin,” Mathis said as she screamed against his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Oliver abandoning the list after season one was stupid. It’s noted repeatedly that things only get worse with every season and that is because Oliver forgot his mission. The problems he pointed out to Diggle in 1x04 are still present, the people in the list are still using their power and influence to step on the lower class people, except he’s not doing anything about it anymore. 
> 
> Judging by 7x15, it would not have surprised me if Midas and Pollard were on the list.


	8. Stopping Mathis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Quentin team up to stop Mathis. Thea visits Moira as Roy tries to find a new job.

Arrow lair  
Afternoon

“According to Lance’s file, The Doll Maker killed once every three days last time he was in Starling City,” Oliver said as he read the file.

“That gives us two to catch him,” Diggle noted and Oliver nodded.

“Felicity, any connection between the victims?” Oliver asked as she typed at the computers.

“Young, pretty. Lance couldn’t figure out how he chose them, which doesn’t give me a lot of confidence that I can,” Felicity said regretfully.

“If we wanna stop him, we need to,” Oliver said as he closed the file. “Mathis doesn’t have any family or known acquaintances, but he does have an attorney. Call Lance, tell him to set up a meeting with Barton Mathis’ attorney.” 

“I’m assuming this takes priority over Pollard?” Felicity inquired.

“Pollard will still be there in a few days, Mathis’ next victim won’t be if we don’t stop him,” Oliver said as he grabbed his bow. 

District Attorney’s office  
Same time

“Dad,” Laurel said warmly as she met him in the hall.

“Hey, how are you doing?” Quentin asked as they hugged.

“Just trying to deal with this mega workload, what are you doing here?” Laurel asked curiously as she pulled back.

“I’m actually here to check up on some court records. Barton Mathis is out and I’m looking for his attorney,” Quentin said and Laurel tensed.

“Why, you’re no longer a detective?” Laurel asked cautiously.

“I’m just doing a little digging off the books,” Quentin said evasively but Laurel could read in between the lines.

“You mean you asked Oliver for help,” Laurel said knowingly and he didn’t deny it. “Dad…this case, it took you to such a dark place last time.” 

“Well, I think we both know it wasn’t Mathis that did that,” Quentin said with a grimace. “I have to do this Laurel; every girl he kills is like another one on my conscience.” 

“Dad, you can’t blame yourself for what that monster does,” Laurel said gently.

“Any more than you do when you lose a case?” Quentin said pointedly and Laurel was silent. “I have to do this Laurel, please.”

“Okay,” Laurel said, finally relenting. “Okay.”

Iron Heights  
Same time

“Are you okay?” Thea asked as she and Moira met in the visitor’s section.

“You need to stop asking me that every time you come to visit,” Moira reprimanded gently.

“Don’t bet on it,” Thea said as they hugged before pulling back. “Has Ollie been to see you?”

“Not since I told him about William and I don’t expect him to,” Moira said regretfully. “I’m afraid this may be one secret that was too much for your brother.”

“He’ll come around,” Thea said optimistically and Moira smiled tightly.

“No, I don’t think so. Thea, you will understand one day when you are a parent that your children are everything, everything. And what I did, denying your brother his child, was unforgivable. He has every right to spend the rest of his life hating me. And he just might.”

Starling City  
Sunset 

At a law office, Quentin knocked on a door that was slightly ajar before walking in, seeing a man putting on a jacket, about to leave.

“Tony Daniel?” Quentin called about,

“Can I help you with something officer?” Daniel asked disinterestedly.

“Barton Mathis,” Quentin said, getting Daniel’s attention. “You handled all his post-trial appeals and I’d like to know where he is.”

“Why, so you can give him a parking ticket or thing?” Daniel asked snidely as he walked over to his desk. “You wanna talk to me about one of my clients, come back with a detective shield. Or a court order.”

Daniel looked up to see Quentin was struggling not to laugh, to his irritation.

“What, you think that’s funny?” Daniel asked annoyed.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Quentin said.

“Tony Daniel.”

Daniel jumped as he heard the modulated voice, whirling around to see The Hood aiming an arrow at him.

“Where is Barton Mathis?” Oliver sneered.

“Iron Heights Prison,” Daniel said immediately.

“He got out,” Oliver growled.

“What? When,” Daniel asked, playing dumb. 

Growling, Oliver let go of the draw string and the arrow sailed towards Daniel, piercing him in the shoulder. Daniel cried out in pain, falling on his desk as Quentin started.

“Hey, hey! Killing him isn’t gonna stop Mathis!” Quentin said as he raced over to Oliver.

“He’ll live,” Oliver said indifferently.

“Yeah, to report me to my lieutenant!” Quentin exploded.

“He won’t talk to anyone,” Oliver said confidently.

“What makes you say that?” Quentin demanded.

“Because he has another shoulder,” Oliver growled, grabbing the arrow and twisting it, causing Daniel to cry out in pain.

“Okay okay okay! There was another place. He was always drawing it, sketches of it in his cell,” Daniel finally said.

“Where was it? Was it in Starling City?” Quentin asked eagerly.

“The Bisque Museum. He said it reminded him of Germany, where porcelain dolls were invented,” Daniels confessed.

Oliver let the arrow go and stalked off, causing Daniel to sigh in relief.

“I’m sorry. I guess he just gets a little enthusiastic sometimes,” Quentin said hurriedly before he followed after Oliver into the hall. “Hey, was that really necessary?”

“It got results,” Oliver pointed out.

“I never signed on for torture!” Quentin snapped.

“There are people in this world who deal only in extreme measures Detective. It would be naïve to think anything less than extreme measures would stop them. Mathis is one such person,” Oliver told him as he turned to face Quentin. “You asked for my help, this is what my help looks like. You knew who I was when you came to me.”

Quentin sighed, knowing that every word Oliver had said was true. But still…

“Just try and keep the torture to a minimum,” Quentin grumbled as they walked off. 

Motel near the Bisque Museum  
Later

“Lady at the front desk said a man matching Mathis’ description checked in last week, room 52,” Quentin said as he and Oliver walked towards said room.

Oliver nodded as they came upon the door to the room. The two glanced at each other and nodded. Quentin kicked the door in, his gun out as he looked around for Mathis. But the room was empty, save a phone and a doll that had something in it’s hands that made Quentin’s blood run cold. It was a clipping of a news article about him arresting Mathis six years earlier.

Suddenly, the phone started ringing. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Quentin picked it up and put it to his ear.

“Detective. It’s been too long,” Mathis said on the other end.

“Felicity, I need a trace,” Oliver said lowly.

“Already on it.”

“You sick son of a bitch,” Quentin growled.

“Sick? I’ve never felt better in my life. Fresh air agrees with me,” Mathis taunted him.

“Yeah, well don’t get too used to it. I caught you before, it’s only a matter of time until I do it again,” Quentin snarled.

“Fair enough. In the meantime however, there’s someone would like to say hello to you. Say hello dead,” Mathis said and Quentin’s blood ran cold as he heard a women scream in the background. 

“She’s done nothing to you. Please, don’t hurt her, let her go,” Quentin begged.

“And let her wither away in a mediocre and forgettable life? No no no no, she deserves so much better than that. She deserves to have her beauty preserved. Pristine. Forever. Don't worry. I will turn her into something special. Pay attention Detective, what comes next is truly exquisite,” Mathis said as Quentin heard the woman scream again and something being poured, a liquid. “The sound of an esophagus slowly hardening. Like a symphony.”

“Felicity,” Oliver growled.

“I’m trying, but he’s blocking my trace,” Felicity said.

“Barton, please, I’m begging you. Is that what you want? Because I’m begging you, just stop!” Quentin said frantically.

“It’s for the world to enjoy. After all, everyone loves a pretty doll,” Mathis said and Quentin knew she was dead.

Arrow lair  
Later

“Police found her body an hour ago,” Felicity said regretfully as she sat at the computer.

“Does the new victim give us any forensics we can use?” Oliver inquired.

“CSIs did a complete forensics work-up, but they sent everything out to a private lab." Diggle said.

“Can you get in?” Oliver asked Felicity.

“No, they took their system offline. Apparently someone hacked into a few police related systems last year,” Felicity said sheepishly and Oliver sighed.

“In the future, be more discreet. For now, we do it like we did the Merlyn job,” Oliver said as he started walking out.

Quentin’s apartment  
Same

“Dad,” Laurel said as she walked into his apartment, seeing he was sitting on his couch, staring at a picture of the victim. “I just heard.”

“I thought this was about him killing again, but I was wrong,” Quentin muttered as she walked over and sat down next to him. “But this has been about me. When I caught him, I made things personal. I know he’s obsessive, I should have known…”

“There was no way you could have known dad. Mathis is a psycho, don’t blame yourself,” Laurel said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

Before Quentin could respond, his phone rang. Pulling it out with a sigh, e frowned as he saw it had ‘unknown number’ flash across the screen. With a frown, Quentin answered.

“Lance,” he answered.

Granger Laboratories  
Later

A guard was on the floor, a tranq dart in his neck as Oliver and Quentin entered the main lab.

“So glad you asked me to tag along,” Quentin said sarcastically. 

“Tranq dart. He’ll be out for thirty-six minutes,” Oliver whispered and Quentin scoffed.

“Yeah, I remember,” Quentin said dryly.

Oliver placed a device that resembled a flash drive in the mainframe before activating his Comms piece in his suit.

“You’re up Felicity.”

“So this is what, a typical night for you? Just a little breaking and entering?” Quentin asked sarcastically but Oliver ignored him, knowing Quentin was just covering how on edge he was. 

“Alright, I got toxicology first,” Felicity said as one of the computer screens in the lab began to flood with the results.

“What are all these?” Quentin asked.

"Chemical ingredients of all the make-up found on the victims- skin cream, nail polish, lipstick," She explained when Quentin spotted something familiar.

“Wait wait, stop. Scroll back, scroll back,” Quentin said and Felicity complied. “This one. Ethyl paraben. Sodium laureth sulphate. I've seen this before."

"It's skin cream. Forensics found traces of it on her fingers. Probably something she used before he grabbed her," Felicity said.

"Skin cream," Quentin repeated, remembering something. "Mermaid something. One of the victims from his last run, she had this in her purse and I had the lab analyze it, and it's the same formula." 

“Felicity,” Oliver started.

“Already on it,” Felicity said and the label of the screen cream appeared on the screen. “Ethyl paraben and sodium laureth sulphate is Mermaiden's proprietary formula.”

"Two victims with the same taste in skin cream. That can’t be a coincidence,” Oliver noted.

“I could never figure out how he chose his victims,” Quentin muttered.

“I think you just did,” Oliver told him. 

Starling City, next day  
Morning

Roy walked into a bar, looking around. An Asian woman around his age, maybe a little older, was at the bar.

“Can I help you?” she said as she saw him.

“I’m here to see Jason. He’s expecting me,” Roy said and her eyes lit up.

“You must be here about the job. Fourth door on the right in the back. Knock before you go in,” she said and Roy nodded.

“Thanks. I’m Roy,” Roy said, holding his hand out to her.

“Jade. I hope we get to know each other,” Jade said as she shook his hand.

Arrow lair  
Same time

“So this is it? Skin cream, that’s our lead?” Diggle asked incredulously.

“It’s something. What do we know about it?” Oliver asked Felicity.

“It's made from crushed mother of pearl and it's super high-end," Felicity said. "Only carried in a handful of boutiques and it's marketed for women with extremely delicate complexions."

"He picks his victims for their skin. The cream is how he finds them," Oliver realized.

"Only four stores in the city carry it and three have surveillance systems. I've ran facial recognition through all of them looking for Mathis, but come up empty. He must be staking out the stores from the outside," Felicity said.

“Fine, then we’ll do the same,” Diggle said.

“That could take days, which we don’t have,” Oliver argued. “He’s probably out there right now looking for another girl.”

“So that’s what we give him,” Felicity said and they looked at her. “I'll go to the stores that carry Mermaiden, and buy it in each one to cover our bases."

“No way, it’s too dangerous,” Diggle said immediately.

“More dangerous than going undercover at a mob casino?” Felicity asked pointedly.

Helpless, Diggle looked to Oliver for help only to find Oliver had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Tell me you aren’t considering this,” Diggle demanded incredulously.

“If you have any other ideas, I’m all ears John,” Oliver said and Diggle opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. “I’ll call Lance; the three of us keep watch on her to make sure we are there when he tries to grab her. No more girls are dying.”

Starling City  
Night

Felicity exited the last store after buying skin cream, under watch. Diggle was watching from a parked car on a street as Quentin roamed the street on foot and Oliver watched from a rooftop.

“That’s the last one,” Felicity said.

“Head to the rendezvous point,” Oliver ordered.

“Just so we’re clear, I’m not a fan of dangling helpless girls in front of psychopaths like meat,” Quentin grumbled.

“She volunteered,” Oliver shot back.

“Well, she must really believe in you,” Quentin muttered and Oliver was silent. “Has to feel good, having someone believe in you that much.”

“I didn’t get into this for the glory Detective. I don’t think you did either,” Oliver said pointedly.

“You’re right, I didn’t. You ever think about how much this costs?” Quentin asked after a moment, thinking of Dinah and Oliver was silent.

“All the time. But if I don’t do this, people die,” Oliver finally said.

Quentin was silent. For the first time, he felt like he could truly understand Oliver Queen. Before he could say anything else, however, Felicity spoke up.

“Someone’s coming,” Felicity said in a panic. 

Oliver reached back into his quiver, pulling out an arrow. Notching it, he took aim at a man in a hat that seemed to be heading towards Felicity.

“Got him,” Oliver assured her.

“Okay, I’m going to admit to being seriously wigged out right now,” Felicity said freaking out.

Oliver did not respond, his arrow trained on the man. However, he entered a restaurant and Oliver lowered his bow as Felicity breathed a sigh of relief.

“False alarm. Next time I volunteer to be bait for a serial killer, please turn me down,” Felicity said tiredly as she entered a back alley.

However, she then let out a terrified scream as Mathis stepped out of the shadows and grabbed her.

Diggle got out of his car as he and Quentin began racing towards the alley, Quentin on his radio as he called for back up. As Diggle ran ahead, Quentin stopped as he saw Mathis dragging the struggling Felicity and ran after the serial killer. 

Mathis dragged Felicity into a construction site when an arrow pierced his shoulder. He growled in pain, loosening his grip and Felicity managed to elbow him and throw herself out of his arms. Mathis shoved her and she was sent flying. She hit some crates, going down, dazed, as Mathis yanked the arrow out of his shoulder. Oliver jumped down to the ground and Mathis took off. But, before he could get far, Oliver reached into his quiver, pulling out an arrow. He notched it and fired, the arrow getting Mathis in the leg.

Mathis wailed in pain, losing his footing. He fell on his face as Quentin and Diggle arrived. As Diggle checked on Felicity, Quentin quickly rushed over to Mathis. Before Mathis could get away, Quentin yanked his arms back, handcuffing one of his hands.

“You’re not getting away this time,” Quentin sneered as he cuffed Mathis’ other hand.

Hearing sirens in the distance, Quentin turned back to tell Oliver, Diggle and Felicity to run. But they were already gone. Shaking his head, Quentin forced Mathis to his feet, probably taking more satisfaction from Mathis’ growl of pain than he should have. Hilton and some cops were getting out as Quentin came forward, forcing Mathis in front of him.

“Don’t give him an inch,” Quentin told the officers as they took Mathis from him.

As Mathis was put in the back of a police cruiser, Hilton approached Quentin, a look of regret on his face.

“Quentin-” Hilton started.

“I know, Pike’s orders,” Quentin said with a sigh before holding his hands out. “Do what you have to do.”

Regretfully, Hilton put him in cuffs and led him towards the car. But Quentin did not regret it. It was worth it to catch Mathis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fans of the comics will recognize the name Jade and what it means for Roy. Those of you who don’t, well, Roy is about to go on a wild ride. 
> 
> 2x03 was the start of Oliver becoming an idiot for the sake of the plot. In the first attempt to stop Mathis, Oliver stops going after Mathis to check on Felicity after she is shoved, which he would not have done. He then takes his eyes off Mathis when the police arrive, allowing Mathis to get away. Once again, not something Oliver would have done. So I fixed that.


	9. Warnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver goes after Pollard as Quentin gives him a warning. Moira receives distressing news as Oliver makes Roy an offer.

Starling City Police Department  
Morning

Quentin sat in an interrogation room, his hands cuffed to the table. The door opened and Quentin looked up, not surprised to see Pike walk in.

“So last year, you were going after the vigilante like he was Bin Laden, now you’re working with him?” Pike asked incredulously.

“In case you haven’t noticed Lieutenant, this city is hurting, worse than it ever has. It needs help, I just became less particular about where it comes from,” Quentin said.

“Even if that costs your job?” Pike demanded and Quentin was silent for a minute.

“I love being a cop Frank, you know I do. But if it comes down to choosing my city or my job, I will gladly hand in my badge and gun. So if you’re gonna fire me, go ahead and do it,” Quentin demanded and Pike was silent for a moment.

“You’re lucky,” Pike grunted as he pulled out some keys and unlocked Quentin’s cuffs. “Your daughter made a very passionate plea that you not be charged due to the fact that you apprehended Mathis, twice now. But you will be on probation for the next month. You step out of line one more time, you will be fired.”

Quentin nodded in understanding, holding his hands as he stood up. It was more than he expected to be honest. But he would gladly make the same choice again in order to stop Mathis. 

Court house  
Same time

Oliver walked into the courtroom and sat down next to Thea, ignoring his sister’s relieved gaze. Moira glanced back at him but Oliver only met her eyes in a steely gaze, letting her know she was not forgiven. Moira seemed to get the message, judging from how she deflated.

"Docket ending 4587, State versus Queen." The bailiff announced as the judge took his seat.

"All right, I'll hear your motions, ladies first," the judge said, looking at Moira's lawyer, Jean Loring.

"Your Honor, we would like to be heard once again on the issue of bail," Jean said. "Ms. Queen has languished in the Iron Heights prison now for five months."

"And in those five months, did the 503 people she's charged with killing miraculously return from the dead?" the judge asked sarcastically. "If not, I'm a little unclear on how the passage of time is relevant."

"Might I remind the court that the defendant is presumed innocent?" Jean asked.

Oliver fought the sigh that nearly escaped his lips. Jean’s argument would sound a lot better if his mom hadn’t confessed on live TV, he noted idly. Jean was going to have to come up with new tactics. 

"No need, I want to law school. It's where I learned that bail, once denied, cannot be set in the absence of change of circumstance," The judge informed her before looking to the prosecutor's table. "Mr. Donner, what do you have for me?"

"Your Honor, the State has no pre-trial motions to make at this time." Donner said as he got to his feet. "But we would like to serve notice to the defense pursuant to rule of criminal procedure Fifteen."

Oliver was surprised by the speed at which Jean leapt to her feet and a pit of dread began to form in his stomach. 

"Your Honor, I would like to conference with the District Attorney," Jean said hurriedly.

"There's really no need, nor any obligation," Donner said smugly.

"What about professional courtesy?" Jean shot back. "I would like to have a conversation with you before you seek the death penalty."

Dimly, Oliver was aware of the crowd gasping and Thea gripping his arm tightly. But all he could feel was shock. He had not bene expecting that outcome.

"Your client aided and abetted an act of mass murder. 503 conversations wouldn't convince me that Moira Queen shouldn't be the 504th fatality,” Donner said coolly. 

Moira glanced back at Oliver and Thea and he saw the fear in her eyes. Putting aside his anger, Oliver reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. Understanding flashing in her eyes, Moira reached out and grabbed his hand.

It wasn’t forgiveness or reconciliation, but it was something.

Verdant  
Afternoon

“That’s not gonna help Speedy,” Oliver said gently as Thea angrily hung up on one of her venders. 

“Well, it’s something,” Thea said angrily.

“Thea, Jean is one of Starling City’s best defense lawyers. We’re gonna fight this,” Oliver said gently and Thea laughed humorlessly.

“That would be so much easier to believe if you could look at mom without looking like you swallowed a lemon,” Thea grumbled and Oliver sighed.

“She kept my son from me Thea. That’s not something I can just forgive,” Oliver said patiently. “But I don’t want her dead, so I will fight like hell to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I’m sorry,” Thea said as she took a deep breath. “You’re right, I can’t expect you to forgive her overnight, what she did was unforgiveable. The fact you even care at all is…impressive.”

“Is something going on Speedy? Besides what’s going on with mom?” Oliver asked as he looked at her worriedly and Thea was silent for a minute.

“Roy and I broke up,” Thea finally said. 

“Oh,” Oliver said lamely after a beat. “I’m sorry Speedy. Do I need to kill him?”

“No,” Thea said, laughing at Oliver’s half joke. “You can’t kill him for being who he is. I mean, he won’t stop going out at night, trying to help make The Glades better in any way he can. I can’t expect him to stop any more than I can expect you not to put on the hood. I guess…I just wish things were different for us.”

Thea then looked up to see Oliver had a thoughtful look on his face , a look Thea had come to associate with him thinking of his ‘other life’ as she had taken to calling it. Before she could question him, however, Oliver’s phone vibrated. Pulling it out, he saw it was a text from Felicity. 

‘Lance wants to meet’ it read.

Quentin’s apartment  
Later in the afternoon

Quentin was sitting at his kitchen table, a file in front of him when the lights went off.

“Detective,” Oliver, in his suit with the hood up, spoke up behind him in his modulated voice. “I assume this isn’t about Mathis?”

“No, this is about something else,” Quentin said as he stood up, picking up the file. “Justine Clayborne.”

“Detective, if this is about old scores-” Oliver started.

“It’s not,” Quentin quickly assured him. “I was going over some old cases a few months ago and I found something out that I thought you should know. Clayborne, he had a son.”

“I did research into Clayborne before I went after him, he had no children,” Oliver said shocked.

“Not legitimate, but he and his wife didn’t exactly hold to ‘til death do we part’ I you know what I mean,” Quentin said as he handed Oliver the file. “Judging from the date on the divorce petition, the kid would be around late twenties today. His name was Simon Morrison.”

“Was?” Oliver noted as he opened the file.

“Well, Simon or whoever he was hacked and deleted all digital traces of himself offline. From what I dug up from old files, he…wasn’t the most stable kid. He used to kill birds with rocks, claimed he did it because he wanted to and that he liked it. Shrinks diagnosed him as a sociopath at age ten,” Quentin said as Oliver started going through the file. 

“So you think he’s coming after me?” Oliver asked.

“Well, you did kill his father and the guy then erased all digital traces of himself. Can’t be a coincidence. Just thought you’d like a heads up,” Quentin said and, after a moment, Oliver nodded.

“Thank you Detective,” Oliver said, closing the file and walking out, the lights flickering back on once he was gone. 

Arrow lair  
Night

“This is like something out of a mob movie,” Felicity said as Oliver and Diggle looked over the file.

“Thanks,” Oliver said and Diggle looked up.

“For what?”

“Not saying ‘I told you so’,” Oliver said with a sigh.

“Figured you were doing enough of that on your own. Besides, no way you could have predicted this,” Diggle said knowingly.

“So what are we gonna do about this?” Felicity inquired.

“I don’t know yet. But, for the moment, I have a City Councilman to visit,” Oliver said as he grabbed his bow.

Starling City  
Night

At Emily Pollard’s house, several guards were standing out front of her house when, suddenly, an arrow flew out and struck one of the guards in the shoulder. He went down with a cry, his gun going off and hitting another guard in the shoulder. Oliver then jumped down, whirling his bow and striking one of the guards before grabbing another one, throwing him against the wall. The guard hit the side of the house and was knocked unconscious as Oliver pulled out a flechette from his sleeve, throwing it at the last guard. It knocked the gun out of his hand and Oliver slugged him, hard. The guard went down and Oliver stormed over to the front door, sending a powerful kick to it, breaking it open.

As Olive walked it, more guards rushed onto the scene, opening fire on him. Oliver jumped into the air, dodging the barrage of bullets as he fired an arrow, which hit one of the guards in the shoulder. The guard then went down as Oliver landed on the floor near the guards, rolling onto the floor and, with a well-aimed kick, knocked a guard off his feet. Oliver pulled another flechette out from under his sleeve and then stabbed one of the guards in the hand, making him cry out in pain as he was now pinned to the floor. Oliver then rose from the floor, grabbing an arrow and firing, getting another guard in the shoulder as he rushed the last guard. Within seconds, he disarmed the last guard and has then pinned against the wall, face first as he bent their arm back.

“Where is Pollard?” Oliver snarled and, when the guard didn’t answer, he twisted their arm, making him cry out. “Where is Pollard?!”

“Up the stairs, third door on the right!” the guard gasped in pain.

Satisfied, Oliver slammed the guard’s head against the wall, knocking him out. Oliver let the guard fall to the floor as he made his way up the stairs. Upon reaching the top, he found there were five guards waiting for him. He had expected as much. Honestly, he was a little disappointed there were only five. As the guards open fire, Oliver rushed them, managing to dodge some bullets but the pain he feels in his arm let him know he’d been hit. But there would be time to worry about that later.

Oliver pulled out another flechette, throwing it and managing to disarm one of the guards, who he punched and grabbed. Another opened fire on him but Oliver shoved the guard forward and the other stopped as he realized what Oliver was doing. It was too late for the guard by then, however. Oliver fired, getting the guard who had fired on him in the shoulder before rushed towards the other three. He jumped, avoiding the barrage of bullets they shot at him before firing an arrow with a line, getting one of them in the shoulder before yanking on the line. The guard was pulled into the air and Oliver punched him before yanking the arrow out. The guard went down, landing on top of the two and, as they tried to push him off, Oliver landed behind them and struck them both in the back of the head with his bow, knocking them out.

As they went down, Oliver breathed heavily. Fourteen guards and he’d only had to kill one. Oliver would count that as a win. Oliver then stood up and stalked towards the third door on the right. Notching an arrow, he kicked the door in, finding a terrified Pollard holding her hands up as he took aim at her.

“Emily Pollard, you have failed this city!” Oliver snarled.

“I-I’m a city Councilman, I served this city faithfully!” Pollard stammered a denial. 

“While using your criminal connections to protect the corrupt like James Midas,” Oliver sneered and Pollard paled. “You vowed to serve this city and its people, not your own interests! Now, you will face justice for your crimes!” 

Oliver released the draw string and Pollard closed her eyes, expecting the blow. But the arrow flew pasted her, hitting the wall behind her.

“Now,” Oliver growled as Pollard opened her eyes in confusion. 

“Already on it,” Felicity said as the device attached to the arrowhead blinked.

Arrow lair  
Same time

At the lair, Felicity typed as the mainframe was suddenly filled with emails from Pollard’s computer. 

Pollard’s house  
Same time

Oliver lowered his bow, turning and walking out as Pollard stared, shaking at what had happened.

Arrow lair  
Later

“There are tons of incriminating emails here,” Felicity told Oliver and Diggle after going through them all. “Not just between her and Midas, but people like Councilman Kullens and people you crossed off the list last year who are trying to get their power and money back.”

“Honestly, with people like her and Kullens in power, it’s no wonder the city is in the state it is,” Diggle grumbled.

“Well, we can kill two birds with one stone,” Oliver said as they looked to him. “Felicity, send Lieutenant Pike the emails. And I don’t think I need to tell you to make sure it remains untraceable.”

“No, I know the memo,” Felicity said as she began typing.

Starling City Police Department  
Not long after

Pike was beginning to get ready to head home when he got on email on his computer. Frowning, he opened it up and was stunned at what he saw.

Unspecified location, next day  
Morning

“In other news, after Lieutenant Frank Pike of the SCPD received an anonymous email with files containing incriminating emails that show she was involved with criminals and has taken brides, Councilman Emily Pollard was arrested this morning. There are also rumors that the police are now conducting an investigation into Councilman Kullens’ alleged involvement in Pollard’s criminal activities,” a news reporter said.

In a dimly lit room, Emiko Adachi watched the report, seething. Her brother’s actions were endangering plans of the Ninth Circle. Something would need to be done, she thought darkly. 

Roy Harper’s house  
Night

“Yeah, yeah of course I can start Monday,” Roy said as he was on the phone with his new boss. “Yeah, thank you. I’ll see you then.”

Roy had no sooner hung up then the lights in his house went out. Roy looked around in confusion when a voice spoke up behind him.

“Roy Harper,” Roy whirled around, shocked to see Oliver, in his suit with the hood up, standing behind him. “I hear you’ve been looking for me.”

“You saved my life,” Roy said swallowing his shock. “Made me realize it wasn’t much of a life. That I could do what others couldn’t, were too afraid to do. I could help you save this city.”

“You’re untrained,” Oliver pointed out.

“I can fight!” Roy argued.

“You can take a beating. There’s a difference,” Oliver said pointedly.

“Then teach me!” Roy said angrily.

“First, you need to prove that I can trust you,” Oliver said.

“How do I do that?” Roy asked eagerly.

“To do what I do, I need Intel. You can be my eyes and ears in The Glades,” Oliver explained.

“How do I contact you?” Roy asked and, in response, Oliver tossed a flechette at his feet.

“Put that in the alley wall of Verdant and I’ll know to contact you,” Oliver said before he turned and walked out.

The lights flickered back on and Roy knew he was gone. Roy picked up the flechette, grinning. It looks like he was in.

Starling City  
Same time

Sara was in her clock tower when her hair stood on end. She wasn’t alone, she realized as she turned around. A man dressed in black stood behind her.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” Sara told him.

“I had no choice. Ra’s al Ghul has ordered your return,” he said before removing his hood, revealing a young man in his early twenties. 

“I’m not going back,” Sara said firmly.

“That is not your decision, he said.

“Tell him you couldn’t find me. Tell him I ran,” Sara said, almost pleading.

In response, he pulled out a dagger and held it near her throat. 

“I won’t lie for you,” he said, making it clear what her options were.

“Fine,” Sara said tiredly.

Before he could blink, she had turned him around, grabbed the dagger, and slit his throat.

“Don’t tell him anything,” Sara said as she let him go and he fell to the floor, dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How Oliver handled Roy in the show just showed how Oliver went from a master planner to a complete idiot in the span of one season. The Oliver from season one would have recruited Roy after a bit, instead of giving him a job he knew Roy would never be satisfied with.


	10. Agendas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is put in a difficult position as he asks the Bratva for a favor.

Starling City  
Afternoon

Oliver walked into the now familiar garage, drawing the attention of Alexi and his men.

“Ah, welcome brother,” Alexi said as Oliver walked over to them. “We have not seen you since you asked us to…handle the associates of Isabel Rochev.”

“Being CEO of a major company is a little time consuming. I do have another favor to ask though,” Oliver said and Alexi raised an eyebrow as Oliver pulled out some files.

“Another meeting with a drug dealer?” Alexi asked as Oliver handed him the file.

“Nothing like that. That is everything I know about a man called Simon Morrison. About a year ago, he wiped all digital traces of himself from existence. I know the Bratva can go places others won’t, get things others can’t,” Oliver said as Alexi opened the file.

“What interest is this man to you?” Alexi inquired as he looked through the file.

“Let’s just say that he and I have unfinished business,” Oliver said vaguely and Alexi nodded.

“First, you know how this works,” Alexi said, closing the file.

“I do something for you, you do something for me,” Oliver said, already expecting it and Alexi nodded.

“Someone has been interfering in our business, attacking my men,” Alexi said as he turned away from Oliver.

“Who is he?” Oliver asked curiously.

“Not he, she,” Alexi corrected, taking Oliver back. “My men report a masked blonde women dressed in black wielding a baton. She is very skilled and aggressive, putting several of my men in the hospital.”

“And what do you want me to do about it?” Oliver asked curiously.

“I’m sure that someone of your…capabilities is able to handle her,” Alexi said as he turned around to face Oliver, a gleam in his eye that made Oliver’s blood run cold.

“I’ll do my best,” Oliver muttered as he turned to leave.

“I’m sure you will,” Alexi said smugly as Oliver walked out.

Arrow lair  
Afternoon

“The Bratva know who you are?” Felicity yelped after Oliver told her and Diggle of his meeting with Alexi.

“Alexi does, I’m not sure about the others,” Oliver said with a sigh.

“How is that possible if you were on Lian Yu for five years?” Felicity asked confused.

“Unless you weren’t,” Diggle said knowingly as Oliver remained silent.

“My fifth year away, I spent a lot of time in Russia,” Oliver said after a moment. “Some of the Bratva saw me in the hood. I’m sure me showing up in Starling City not long before The Hood made his first appearance made some of them put two and two together.”

“Why didn’t you tell us this?” Diggle asked.

“Why don’t you tell us about your time in Afghanistan?” Oliver shot back and Diggle had the decency to look sheepish. “You of a people know there are thigs soldiers don’t talk about. There are things in my past I’m not ready to talk about, that I might never be ready to talk about. I need you to respect that John.”

“You’re right, I was out of line,” Diggle apologized and Oliver nodded.

“Back on topic, what are you going to do about our resident copycat?” Felicity asked curiously.

“We don’t know she’s a copycat. I want you to look into her, find any information about a blond woman in black,” Oliver ordered Felicity.

“Are we stopping her or thanking her?” Felicity inquired.

“That depends,” Oliver said vaguely.

“On want?” Felicity asked.

“What she’s after,” Oliver said simply. 

Starling City  
Night

“Quite a turnout,” Isabel said testily as she and Oliver stood next to each other, seeing the quest of Oliver’s benefit for The Glades. 

“And I’m sure you’re overjoyed,” Oliver said sarcastically. 

“I just don’t believe we should bankrupt ourselves in trying to restore your family name,” Isabel shot back.

“No, you just believe in gutting companies, putting hundreds of people out of work in the name of ‘winning’,” Oliver said calmly, enjoying the look of anger on her face. “I’ve done my research on you Isabel, every company you’ve acquired has profited at the cost of its employees. You think you fight for your company? No, you only fight yourself.”

Oliver could see her seething with anger but he couldn’t help but be impressed as she walked off rather than make a scene. Say what you will about Isabel Rochev, she knew how to control her emotions.

“Nicely done,” Laurel said as she walked up, having heard the last part of their conversation.

“Thanks. What are you doing here?” Oliver asked, surprised to see her there.

“As I am your oldest friend, the DA’s office opted to have me be here to represent them,” Laurel said sarcastically and Oliver winced.

“I’m sorry about that,” Oliver apologized and she sighed.

“It comes with the territory I guess. You’ve had a busy week. Corrupt business tycoons, serial killers, crooked politicians. You’re a superhero Ollie,” Laurel said and Oliver looked away at the look of pride on her face.

“I’m not a hero Laurel, I’m just a guy trying to do his best to save his city,” Oliver said evasively. 

“So was Tony Stark,” Laurel said calmly, almost laughing at the look of confusion on Oliver’s face. “You need to catch up on the movies you missed while you were away.”

“Mr. Queen.”

Oliver and Laurel looked up to see a dark haired man with matching eyes approach them. Oliver thought he looked vaguely familiar.

“Sabastian Blood,” Blood said, holding out a hand out to Oliver and Oliver’s eyes lit up in recognition.

“The Alderman from The Glades,” Oliver noted as he shook Blood’s hand and Blood nodded.

“I was wondering if I could talk to you for a moment,” Blood said and Oliver nodded.

“Of course,” Oliver said as he looked over at Laurel. “I’ll see you later.”

“Sure,” Laurel said with a nod as she turned to Blood. “Alderman Blood.”

“Miss Lance,” Blood greeted politely as she walked off.

“So what can I do for you Alderman?” Oliver inquired.

“I came here tonight to offer you some friendly advice,” Blood said and Oliver raised an eyebrow. “The people of the Glades have a lot of anger towards your family.”

“As they should,” Oliver said calmly, taking Blood back. “My mother was involved with something terrible. But I’m not her. If that’s your warning Alderman, you’ve wasted both our time.”

“Mr. Queen, Not every problem can be solved by throwing your money around,” Blood told him.

“I agree,” Oliver said, taking Blood back. “But, in case you’re in need of a history lesson, this country was built in no small part because of rich men in a position of power. If you think this city can be saved without the assistance of the rich, you’re fooling yourself Alderman.”

“You know, I’ve seen your office. Quite a view. How small we must look from up there,” Blood said condescendingly and Oliver smiled tightly. 

“How small I must look from up on your high horse,” Oliver said, taking Blood back. “I see the way you look at me, it’s the same look I’ve gotten most of my life from people who only saw Robert Queen’s son, decided I was rich scum and would only ever be rich scum. You may have come here under the illusion of friendship, but it’s become very clear during this conversation that you’re far more interested in judging me than working with me. Have a good night Alderman.”

Oliver then walked off, leaving Blood staring after him with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Everything okay?” Diggle asked as he walked up to Oliver.

“Yeah. There is just…something off about that guy,” Oliver muttered, unable to shake the uneasy feeling about Blood. 

Oliver then felt his phone vibrate. Pulling it out, he saw he had a text from Felicity.

‘Got something.’ 

Arrow lair  
Later

“Over the last few months, there’s been police reports of a woman in black attacking, well, attackers," Felicity told Oliver and Diggle. “She put five would be rapists in the hospital.”

“She’s targeting criminals, which explains why she’s going after the Bratva,” Oliver muttered.

“First the hoods, now her. Looks like you started a movement,” Diggle noted and Oliver sighed.

“I don’t want to start a movement, so we find her,” Oliver ordered.

“And how do we do that?” Felicity inquired.

Bar  
Later

“So, how was your first night on the job?” Jade asked as she and Roy cleaned up after closing.

“Honestly you should try Verdant some time. Compared to that, this was easy,” Roy said as he tied a trash bag.

Roy then walked back into the back alley, tossing the bag into a dumpster. His air standing on end, Roy pulled out the flechette Oliver had given him and threw it. However, Oliver easily caught it, surprising Roy.

“Good reflexes,” Oliver said as he tossed the arrow back at Roy’s feet.

“Was wondering when I’d see you again,” Roy said as he picked up the flechette.

“There’s someone new it town, a woman in black. She’s targeting criminals. Find her, do not engage, leave that to me,” Oliver ordered before walking off, disappearing into the shadows.

Arrow lair  
Later

“Do you really think Roy can find her?” Diggle asked skeptically.

“Maybe not, but it’s a good trial run for him. I want you to tail him tomorrow,” Oliver ordered.

“So I have to follow him around?” Diggle asked incredulously.

“Just keep an eye on him. The flechette I gave him doubles as a tracer; I wanna know where he goes and who he talks to. With any luck, Roy might be able to pick up a lead we can use to find our woman in black,” Oliver explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It always annoys me when Diggle gets huffy about Oliver not telling him things about his five years of hell, yet Diggle isn’t exactly offering things about his time in Afghanistan. Diggle is a soldier; he should understand that there are things people like Oliver don’t talk about.


	11. The reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy finds himself in trouble, leading to a stunning revelation from Oliver's past.

The Glades  
Morning

Roy, carrying some liquor that had ‘gone missing’ from the bar he worked at, walked up to a bazar, a rather low one. It was for looters and low lives mostly. It was one of the ways he had made money back before he had met Thea. 

“Harper,” the owner, Louis, said pleasantly. “It’s been a while.”

“Been busy,” Roy said evenly.

“I can see that,” Louis said as he eyed the crate of liquor. “I’ll give you a hundred.” 

"Four," Roy countered.

"Two-five," Louis offered.

“Deal…if you throw in some information,” Roy said and Louis groaned as he took the liquor from Roy and headed into his truck. “Come on, you’ve got your finger on the pulse. I’m looking for someone. Blond, likes black leather.”

“Sounds like your type,” Louis said but Roy ignored the jab.

“Likes beating the crap out of guys with a Bo staff,” Roy finished.

“That still sounds like your type,” Louis laughed.

“I wanna put eyes on her. What do you know?" Roy asked.

“Not much,” Louis said as he pulled out a wade of cash. “You know Cindy? Folks call her Sin? She’s got short, spiky hair,” Roy shook his head. “Yeah, I've seen her a couple times hanging around with your black leather girlfriend."

“So where can I find Sin?” Roy inquired.

“Well, she hangs out over at Fifth and Boyton." Louis said, handing Roy his money. "And that is what I know."

Roy nodded in appreciation before he turned and walked off. A few feet away, Diggle watched from his car before causally following after Roy.

Arrow lair  
Same time

“It’s weird seeing you there,” Felicity said as she walked up behind Oliver as he sat at the computers, looking at what he was doing. “Who’s Ezra Barnes?”

“Our next target. You’ve heard of the gun pandemic in The Glades?” Oliver asked and she nodded. “Well, Barnes is a military man posted at Camp Kirby. Secretly, he smuggles out military grade weapons and runs a black market weapons ring. His top sellers include the crime lord who calls himself ‘The Mayor’.”

“Okay, seriously, military personal, business men, politicians, who isn’t on the list?” Felicity asked in disbelief.

“The list was Malcolm’s early Undertaking, he kept a list of everyone he believed had failed the city. He wasn’t wrong,” Oliver said with a sigh. “Barnes runs a supply run in two days. Only he’ll be getting some unexpected interference.” 

“No second chance for him?” Felicity inquired and Oliver smiled nastily.

“I paid him a visit before I returned home, at Camp Kirby,” Oliver said, to her shock. “The military is covering it up; don’t want people to know a vigilante can infiltrate their bases. Barnes had his chance Felicity. Now he’ll face justice.”

The Glades  
Afternoon

Roy was walking through The Glades where Louis had told him he’d find Sin. It didn’t take him long. After about fifteen minutes, he saw a teenage girl, maybe around seventeen or eighteen, with black hair cut in a pixie style throwing away a bottle in a paper bag. This had to be Sin, he thought as he started walking over to her.

“Cindy? Sin?” Roy called out and she whipped her head towards him, narrowing her eyes.

“What do you want Abercrombie?” Sin asked annoyed.

“I’m looking for a friend of yours. Blond, dressed head to toe in black leather?” Roy asked.

Sin stared at him with an unreadable look on her face before she took off running.

“I guess that’s a yes,” Roy muttered as he took off after her.

Sin jumped a fence and ran into a parking lot. Roy easily jumped after her and continued the pursuit. She was fast, Roy noted as he jumped over a car in his pursuit, but he was faster. The two ran out of the parking lot and into a street corner. Sin raced into a building, a clock tower, Roy right behind her. He raced after Sin on the stairs but, as he rounded a corner, he was suddenly struck across the face with a Baton and it all went black.

Arrow lair  
Later in the afternoon

Felicity was at the computer as Oliver was working on the Salmon Ladder when Felicity’s phone rang.

“It’s Dig,” Felicity said and Oliver dropped down as Felicity answered. “What’s up?”

“Well, I spent the day tracking Roy. He talked to some lowlife north of The Glades then he went towards Fifth and Boyton. According to the tracer in the Flechette, he took off running after something but he stopped. He hasn’t moved in over ten minutes,” Diggle said and Oliver and Felicity exchanged a glance.

“Think it’s the blond attacker?” Felicity asked.

“I don’t know, but either way, Roy might have gotten himself into some trouble,” Oliver noted. “Where is he now?”

“Some clock tower in The Glades,” Diggle said.

Clock Tower  
Mid afternoon

Roy groaned as Sin slapped him in the face, waking him up.

“Wake up Abercrombie,” Sin said, kneeling in front of him as Roy realized his hands were zip tied together.

“Wh-what’s going on?” Roy stammered.

And then, the blond woman in black walked into view, holding her Baton over her shoulder. There was little doubt in Roy’s mind that this was the women Oliver was looking for.

“Did they send you? She asked.

“What?” Roy asked in confusion.

In response, she struck him across the face with her baton.

“Ah,” Roy cried out as he felt a cut on his cheek.

“Are you one of them?” she asked.

“One of who?” Roy asked in confusion. 

She raised the baton to strike him once more when her instincts kicked in. She whirled around, getting out of the way just in time as an arrow that would have pierced her shoulder otherwise flew passed and hit the wall. Oliver, dressed in his suit, emerged from the shadows, aiming an arrow at him.

“Let him go,” he growled.

“Let him go, he’s not one of them,” the woman told Sin after a moment.

Sin, wisely choosing not to make a comment she otherwise would have, walked over and cut Roy free. Then, before either of them could blind, the woman fled, Oliver taking off after her.

“So you’re a vigilante groupie, huh? Who knew?” Sin said dryly as Roy glared at her.

Down below, the woman was heading for the door when an arrow hit near her. The arrow went off with a small explosion, sending her flying back. She hit the wall and two arrows then flew out, landing on either side of her, pinning her there. Oliver then emerged from the shadows, his bow by his side.

“Why are you going after the Bratva?” Oliver demanded.

“I could ask the same thing of you with criminals,” she countered. “So you’re taking in strays now? I guess some things never change.”

Beneath his hood, Oliver frowned. The way she talked, it was like she knew him. And her voice…

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Once you know, your life will never be the same,” she said ominously.

“I can take it,” Oliver said confidently.

“Not this time, Ollie,” she said and he froze.

Only six people had ever called him that. Two were dead; three were his mother, Thea and Laurel, which left…

He reached out and removed her mask, revealing the face of Sara Lance.

“Sara,” he breathed, in shock.

“I’ll give you some time to let it sink in,” Sara said.

She then dropped something to the floor and there was a small explosion. Oliver was thrown back, landing on his back. When he looked up, Sara was gone.

Arrow lair  
Night

“Sara Lance. Laurel’s sister. The Detective’s other daughter, who went on The Queen’s Gambit with you even though you were dating Laurel at the time,” Felicity rambled, in shock.

“Felicity,” Diggle said and she stopped.

“I’m sorry, just isn’t she dead? You told everyone that she was dead, that she drowned when The Gambit went down,” Felicity said her mind whirling.

“You lied,” Diggle realized when Oliver lifted his head.

"When 'The Gambit' capsized, uh Sara was pulled under," Oliver said shakily. "It was so dark and cold… and I thought she drowned. About year later, I saw her."

“You saw here where? On the island? Sara drifted to the island to?” Diggle asked in shock.

“Not exactly,” Oliver said but he didn’t elaborate.

"Why didn't you tell the Lances that she didn't die in that boat?" Felicity asked confused. "Laurel and Mr. Lance, they blame you."

"Yeah, well, it was my fault. What happened was my fault," Oliver said bluntly. 

“Well where has she been all these years Oliver?” Diggle asked.

“I don’t know!” Oliver snapped as he looked over at Diggle. “Diggle, I swear to God, I thought she was dead.”

“So, what are you gonna do about the Bratva now that we know it’s Sara?” Felicity inquired and Oliver didn’t have an answer. 

Clock Tower  
Later 

Sara stared out at the city, deep in thought as Sin walked up behind her.

So do we need to find a new hideout now that the vigilante knows where ours is?” Sin asked.

“No,” Sara said after a moment. “The vigilante won’t come after me.”

“What makes you think that?” Sin asked.

“I just do,” Sara muttered but Sin got it.

“You know who he is, don’t you?” Sin realized.

“He’s someone I used to know…in another life,” Sara said with a faraway look in her eyes as she thought of a different time, of the island and everything that had happened there.

“Another life seems accurate.”

Started by the unexpected voice, Sin jumped as Sara whirled around. Oliver, his hood up and voice modulated active, stood on the other side of the room.

“We need to talk Sara,” Oliver said simply as Sara stared at him, knowing she couldn’t get out of it this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I didn’t hate 2x04, I found it be one of the weaker episodes of season two, largely because the writers used The Mayor plot to push their political BS into the show. So I’m going to be handling it differently.


	12. Old friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Oliver confronts Sara about where she has been, he learns disturbing details about The Bratva. Thea finds out what Roy has been up to.

Starling City  
Night

In a Chinese restaurant on the rougher side of town, Oliver and Sara sat across from each other. It was silent between them for several moments, the tension between them noticeable.

“Did you tell my family that I’m alive?” Sara finally blurted out.

“No. I wanted to talk to you before I made any decisions. Sara, I saw you die,” Oliver said still in a bit of disbelief. 

“Not the first time that’s happened, right?” Sara asked dryly and Oliver nodded, giving her that. “I saw you die to.”

“I guess we’ve both lived long enough to know things aren’t what they seem,” Oliver noted.

“What happened to Slade?” Sara asked, needing to know.

“He’s dead. I made sure of it,” Oliver said bluntly and it was silent for a moment. “Where have you been?”

“Everywhere and nowhere,” Sara said vaguely and Oliver smiled tightly.

“I practically invented the vague answers routine Sara. You’re gonna have to do better than that,” Oliver snapped and she stared at him stonily. “I’ve never known you to be much of a fighter. Where did you pick that up?” 

“I met some rough people. Thought I should get rougher to,” Sara said.

“Sara,” Oliver said roughly, nearly cutting her off. “Why did you come back?”

“The earthquake,” Sara said honestly. 

“You came back to make sure Laurel and your father were okay,” Oliver realized and she nodded. “And now you’re still here, watching over them like some sort of ghost.”

“We’re both ghosts. We died on that island,” Sara said grimly.

“No, we both lived,” Oliver disagreed. “And I get that you have been in pain for so long that probably it feels normal now but…you can let it go and come home.”

“No I can’t. You don’t understand,” Sara said softly.

“Then help me understand Sara. Why are you going after the Bratva?” Oliver inquired.

“Someone has to stop the sex trade,” Sara said and Oliver paused, staring at her.

“I was under the impression that the Bratva had stopped dealing in the sex trade,” Oliver said lowly.

“Well, the six girls I’ve saved beg to differ,” Sara said flippently and Oliver nodded.

“Well, as much as I’m sure that you can handle it on your own, a Bratva Captain can do a lot better,” Oliver said as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

Across town, Roy was in the back alley of the bar he worked at, throwing some trash in the dumpster when he felt someone behind him. Turning around, he saw it was Thea. 

“Where’d you get that?” Thea asked, gesturing to the cut on his cheek.

“Occupational hazard of being your brother’s informant,” Roy said and Thea started.

“Since when are you Ollie’s informant?” Thea asked shocked.

“Since last week. What are you doing here Thea?” Roy asked.

“I wanted to see how you were doing…I miss you,” Thea said after a moment.

“I miss you to,” Roy admitted before his eyes hardened. “But nothing’s changed Thea. You may love me, but you can’t accept me. I’m done apologizing for who I am.”

“Roy-” Thea started.

“Go home Thea. There’s nothing for you here,” Roy said kindly but firmly. 

“Yeah…I guess you’re right,” Thea said, fighting tears before she turned and walked off.

Roy stared after her for a moment before he headed back inside.

“Hey, you okay?” Jade asked as she saw him come in the back.

“Yeah, just…been a long day,” Roy said with a tired sigh.

Bratva Garage, next day  
Morning

Alexi and his men were working on some cars in their day job when the door to the garage opened up. Alexi looked up and froze as he saw who had just entered.

“Pakhan, we were not next expecting you,” Alexi stammered in shock as his men all stood at attention as they saw Anatoly, unnerved by the hard look on his face.

“I have been hearing whispers of what goes on this city. These whispers…anger me,” Anatoly said as he walked over to Alexi. “I thought we had understanding about how things work.”

“We do Pakhan,” Alexi said quickly.

“Then perhaps you can explain why Bratva is STILL DEALING IN SEX TRADE!” Anatoly suddenly exploded and Alexi paled. “Do not deny, I have proof.”

“Pakhan-” Alexi started.

“Yes, I am Pakhan,” Anatoly growled, shutting him up. “And I made clear when I took over that Bratva was not going to be like it was under Gregor. No more human trafficking. But it appears as if you believed I was not serious.”

Anatoly then, to everyone’s shock, pulled out a pistol and fired. Alexi stumbled back, blood seeping from his bullet wound before Anatoly fired again. Alexi fell back, his eyes staring without seeing as Anatoly lowered his gun, the others staring in shock and horror.

“You,” Anatoly pointed at one of the shaking Bratva. “You are in charge now. Pray you will learn from your brother’s mistake.”

“Yes, of course Pakhan,” the man said, not seeming eager about his promotion.

“As first order of business, Bratva will cease all sex trafficking. And your brother Oliver Queen has requested favor. You will give it to him,” Anatoly ordered before he turned and walked out. “And clean up mess.”

Queen Mansion  
Not long after

“Okay, thanks,” Oliver hung up before turning to Sara as she sat on his bed. “Anatoly dealt with the situation. The Bratva won’t be dealing with the sex trade anymore. It’s not perfect, but it should cut down human trafficking in Starling City.”

“Thank you,” Sara said quietly as she got off his bed.

“You never have to thank me, it’s my city. I will do whatever I have to do protect it,” Oliver said before he paused. “Sara-”

Whatever Oliver was going to say was interrupted by a knock on his door.

“Ollie, are you dressed? We need to talk,” Thea said on the other side of the door.

“I should go,” Sara said quietly as she moved towards the window.

“Sara-” Oliver started.

“I’m not leaving Starling City, I just don’t want Thea to find out,” Sara assured him. “You know where to find me if you want to talk.”

Sara then opened his way and climbed out, disappearing. Oliver stared after her for a few moments before, with a sighed; he walked over and opened the door.

“What’s going on Speedy?” Oliver asked wearily and she paused, seeing how tired he looked.

“Are you okay?” Thea asked worriedly.

“What’s going on?” Oliver repeated with more force and Thea understood this was not something he’d like to talk about.

“Did you recruit Roy onto your little mission?” Thea said and the answer was clear on Oliver’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t aware I had to run my activities as a vigilante by you,” Oliver said sarcastically.

“You know that’s not how I meant it,” Thea said and Oliver sighed.

“Yeah, I know,” Oliver stepped aside so she could enter before closing the door. “Speedy, Roy reminds me a lot of someone I used to know.”

“Who?” Thea asked, thinking of Slade.

“Me,” Oliver said, surprising her. “During those first two years on the island, I was a lot like Roy. He doesn’t trust anyone and the island taught me not to trust anyone either. I see what you see in him, he’s a fighter, he doesn’t give up, and he won’t abandon what’s precious to him. As long as he’s with me, I can make sure Roy doesn’t get himself killed. You may not like it, but Roy and I are cut from the same cloth. Which is why I know that can help him.”

“Just…look out for him,” Thea said almost pleadingly and Oliver nodded.

“You have my word,” Oliver promised and Thea nodded, taking comfort in that.

Arrow lair  
Night

“So she hasn’t told you anything?” Felicity asked as Oliver suited up.

“If I push her too hard too fast, she’ll bolt. I know,” Oliver said with a confidence. “She trusts me; I have to give her time.”

“And her family, what about them? Don’t they deserve to know?” Diggle inquired as he crossed his arms.

“It should come from her, not me,” Oliver said simply. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a weapons ring to break up.”

“Oliver,” Diggle called out as Oliver grabbed his bow.

“Barnes had his chance John,” Oliver said darkly as he stalked off.

Starling City  
Later

Ezra Barnes and his men were about to hand Xavier Reed, the crime lord who called himself ‘The Mayor’ the spoils when an arrow flew out and hit one of Barnes’ men in the shoulder. He went down with a cry as everyone looked around wildly. Spotting Oliver standing on a railing, one of Reed’s men opened fire on him. Oliver easily avoided the bullets and fired, getting the man in the stomach. As the man went down, Oliver fired two more arrows, getting two of Barnes’ men in the shoulder. Whirling his bow, Oliver struck several of Barnes and Reed’s men, taking them out. Sensing out behind him, Oliver notched an arrow and whirled around, seeing Reed standing several feet away, holding a missile launcher. 

“Old school weapons, respect. But can they do this?!” Reed asked as he pulled the trigger.

Oliver fired his bow at the same time and the arrow collided in midair with the missile. The resulting explosion threw them both back and Oliver lost his bow in the chaos, landing on his back. Sensing two of Reed’s men heading towards him, Oliver knocked one of them off their feet with a well-aimed kick. Jumping to his feet, Oliver punched him hard enough to knock him out before pulling out a flechette and throwing it, hitting the one he had knocked down in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain.

Reed was looking around for Oliver, trying to find him before Oliver jumped down behind him, knocking his head against one of the vehicle’s, knocking him out. Finding his bow, Oliver picked it up before going in search of his true target. 

Barnes was running when an arrow flew out, hitting the side of one of the trucks he and his men had arrived in. Pale, Barnes turned around to see Oliver aiming an arrow at his chest.

“Ezra Barnes, you have failed this city!” Oliver snarled before firing, the arrow striking Barnes in the chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anatoly as we saw him in the flashbacks and in his appearance in 2x06 didn’t really strike me as someone who would allow human trafficking in his organization. So I’d like to think that, season five recon aside of Anatoly being a morally bankrupt villain, Anatoly would have outlawed it in the Bratva.


	13. Family secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Donner gives Moira an offer, Moira reveals some startling information to Oliver.

Queen mansion  
Night

Oliver was watching a basketball game on television when Sara walked in. Thea was mostly sleeping at Verdant these days, so Oliver had offered to let Sara crash in one of the guest rooms for a few days. Oliver recognized the sights of nightmares keeping you awake, he thought as he saw the bags under Sara’s eyes. He’d had more than a few himself. 

“Can’t sleep?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t do well with my eyes closed,” Sara said simply and he nodded in understanding. “Thanks for letting me stay here. I know you got a lot going on with your mom.”

“Thea’s mostly sleeping in her office these days, so,” Oliver shrugged. 

“Thanks for understanding,” Sara said gratefully.

“I don’t understanding,” Oliver said bluntly. “Not a day goes by that your family doesn’t miss you.”

“Yeah, how do you know?” Sara asked sarcastically.

“Because I missed you,” Oliver said honestly.

There was a moment of silence, Sara easily understanding what Oliver was saying, what he didn’t say. But it wasn’t that simple.

“I don’t think they’ll be as happy to see me as you think,” Sara said evasively as she looked away from his piercing gaze.

“Sara, I understand how difficult it can be to come back after the things we’ve been through,” Oliver said and she smiled tightly.

“I’m guessing my father and Laurel weren’t too happy to see you,” Sara noted.

“No. No, not at first,” Oliver noted.

“I wasn’t sure whether you two ever got back together,” Sara said and Oliver smiled tightly.

“We tried. But, eventually, we both had to accept the truth: Laurel and I, we’re not soulmates. Our past, it was just too much to overcome,” Oliver said with a sigh and she nodded.

“Yeah. Some things, you know, they’re better left in the past,” Sara said cryptically before she turned and headed back up the stairs. 

Oliver stared after her, worried. He knew all about shame and guilt but this was different. What was so bad in Sara’s past that she preferred letting her family think she was dead, he wondered. 

Iron Heights, next day  
Mid-Morning

“Will Mr. Queen not be joining us?” Donner asked dryly as he sat in a meeting with Moira, Thea, and Jean.

Moira squirmed; not at all sure Oliver was coming. Before she could speak up, however, the door opened and, to her shock and relief, Oliver walked in.

“Sorry I’m late, there’s an old friend in town…”

Oliver paused, staring in shock as he saw Laurel, who looked like she would rather be anywhere else, sitting next to Donner.

“I just finished explaining to your mother and sister that Ms. Lance will be sitting second chair for the prosecution," Donner said smugly as Laurel looked at Oliver apologetically.

“This is a conflict of interest, Ms. Lance practically grew up in the Queen household,” Jean said hotly.

“I think you’re overstating matters,” Donner said coolly.

“Well, we'll see when I move to conflict Miss Lance off this case," Jean snapped.

“Maybe there won't be a case much longer," Donner said, taking them all back. “I come here not just with Miss Lance, but also with a plea offer.”

Donner pulled something out of his briefcase and places it on the table, sliding it down to Jean.

“Life, with the possibility of parole,” Laurel said as Jean picked it up and read it. 

“No," Jean shook her head, sliding it back. "We are not pleading out. Mrs. Queen is innocent."

“She aided and abetted five hundred and three homicides,” Donner shot back.

“Under duress from a homicidal maniac named Malcolm Merlyn!” Jean snapped angrily. “She also withdrew from the criminal conspiracy before its execution.”

“Within five minutes,” Donner said pointedly. “With Malcolm Merlyn dead, a jury is going to want to blame someone.” 

“Moira, you’ll be facing the death penalty if you don’t take this,” Laurel said gently. 

“Sounds a lot like blackmail,” Thea sneered, glaring at Donner angrily but he didn’t even blink.

“Try reality. And here’s some more: we've subpoenaed over a decades' worth of phone messages, phone records, letters and emails. I'm willing to bet I find something that crushes your duress defense to powder," Donner said smugly.

Oliver was trying very hard to remember the calming techniques Talia and Shado had taught him but it was difficult for him to fight the instinct to break Donner’s neck.

“Mr. Donner, I would like a few days to consider your offer,” Moira said after a moment.

“Of course,” Donner said with a smug smile, grabbing his briefcase and standing up.

Laurel quickly grabbed her things and followed after him, Oliver staring after her.

“Excuse me,” Oliver told the others before quickly following after her.

Oliver caught up with Laurel and Donner outside the prison. 

“Hey!” He called out and glaring at Donner when they turned to face him.

“I’ll meet you by the car,” Donner said before quickly leaving.

“Why are you on this case?” Oliver asked Laurel once he was gone.

“I was assigned,” Laurel started.

“I get that. But why you specifically? Jean’s right, everyone knows our history. It doesn’t make sense,” Oliver said confused.

“Believe me, I wish I knew. But this is a new job; I can’t refuse no matter how much I want to. What pull I do have, I used to get that plea deal,” Laurel said, surprising Oliver. “The DA is serious about the death penalty Ollie. Everyone who knows you can see there is something going on with your mom and you. I don’t know what, but you can’t work it out if she’s dead. We both know what is like to lose someone Ollie. Whatever’s going on, I know you still love her and I don’t want to see you lose your mom.” 

Laurel then turned and walked off, leaving Oliver standing there, considering her words.

Oliver was still considering her words when he journeyed back into the prisoner, where Jean was talking to Moira and Thea.

“Even if we ever get to sentencing, you were acting under duress. I have everything I need to keep them from sentencing you to death,” Jean was saying as Oliver reentered the room.

“Jean, Speedy, can we have the room for a minute?” Oliver inquired.

Jean stopping, looking at Oliver before looking back at Moira nodded and Jean sighed.

“Alright,” Jean said before walking out.

“Try not to kill each other while we’re gone,” Thea said dryly as she passed.

Oliver ignored her, waiting until they were gone until he spoke.

“What are you thinking Mom?” Oliver asked and she sighed.

“That I’m not sure I can win over a jury, especially when my own son can barely stand to be in the same room with me,” Mira said dryly and Oliver chuckled humorlessly.

“I think we both know that has nothing to do with what’s happening now,” Oliver said pointedly and she nodded.

“I suppose not,” Moira admitted before looking up at him. “Have you been to see them?”

“Yeah, I went to see them a few weeks ago, gonna head out again after the trial,” Oliver said and she nodded. “Mom, what are you going to do about Donner’s deal?”

“I don’t know. The odds are not looking good if what Mr. Donner is saying is true,” Moira said and Oliver saw a look in her eye that he did not like.

“What aren’t you telling me Mom?” Oliver demanded and she was silent for a moment. “Mom, what other secrets are you keeping?”

“The truth about your sister,” Moira finally said with a sigh.

“Thea, what about Thea?” Oliver asked confused and Moira weighed the pros and cons before reasoning he would find out anyway soon enough.

“It was many years ago. Your father was engaging in his…extra martial activities,” Moira said and Oliver grimaced. “And I had a moment of weakness. I cheated on him…with Malcolm Merlyn.”

“What?” Oliver said after a moment of shock.

“It was shortly after Rebecca had been killed, both of us were in a rather dark place. It was one time,” Moira quickly assured her stunned son. “He left town shortly after and Tommy came to live with us, you remember I’m sure. Not long after your father and I had been named Tommy’s legal guardians, I…discovered I was pregnant.”

“No…Thea…” Oliver stilled as he realized what Moira was saying.

“Is Malcolm’s daughter,” Moira confirmed grimly.

“I need to sit down,” Oliver muttered, sinking into a chair. “You’re sure?”

“I had a DNA test done myself, she’s Malcolm’s,” Moira confirmed. 

Oliver put his head in his hands, struggling to come to terms with this. His sister was Malcolm Merlyn’s daughter; it was not an easy pill to swallow. Suddenly, so many things about his sister made sense. She had Malcolm’s eyes, he realized after a moment. 

“I’m sorry,” Moira said and he looked up at her. “How my son turned out to be such an amazing man with me as a mother, I’ll never know.”

As she looked at him, Oliver’s blood run cold as the realization hit him. She knew.

“How…” Oliver trailed off.

“Since The Undertaking. Everything became so painfully clear that night. It was also the night I stopped sleeping,” Moira said with a sad smile before reaching over, taking his hand. “I know you hate me for keeping William from you, but no matter what happens, know that I could not be more proud of the man you have become. So selfless and brave, beyond anything I have ever hoped you could be. So unlike your parents. Whether I am here or not, know that you are a man your father and I are proud of.” 

Oliver did not say anything, simply grasping her hand. It was not reconciliation, not by far…but it was a start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s a rather slow chapter, but it was a necessary one for Oliver and Moira’s relationship going forward.


	14. The Leage of Assassins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver finds out where Sara has been for the last four years as her past comes back to haunt her.

Iron Heights  
Afternoon 

“So he knows…about me,” Thea said as she sat across from Moira. “How’d he take it?” 

“I believe it was shock more than anything else. Your brother needs some time to process what he’s learned. But I do know one thing,” Moira said, reaching out and gabbing her daughter’s hand in hers. “Whether your father is Robert Queen or Malcolm Merlyn, nothing will ever change the way your brother feels about you.”

Queen Mansion  
Same time

Oliver’s mind was still whirling from his conversation with his mother when he walked into the Mansion. Sara was in the foyer, staring at a picture of The Queen’s Gambit when he walked in. She seemed distracted, lost in thought as she hadn’t even noticed Oliver.

“Sara? Sara?” Oliver called out, breaking her out of whatever trance she was in. “You okay?”

“How’d everything go with your mother?” Sara said, sidestepping the issue, which wasn’t lost on Oliver. 

“I ran into your sister. She’s working on the case,” Oliver said and Sara started.

“You didn’t say anything,” Sara said pleadingly.

“No,” he said to her relief. “I know a little something about keeping secrets and respecting them…even if I don’t totally understand why you’re keeping yours.” 

Sara turned away, walking a little ways from him. But Oliver was not going to let her get away with that, not this time.

“Is this about what happened on the island?” Oliver inquired as he walked over to her.

“No. After,” Sara said as he turned to face him. “There were things that I did, things I had to do to survive…things that there are no forgiveness for.”

“Well that’s the things about forgiveness. You can’t get it until you ask for it,” Oliver said gently.

Before the conversation could continue, the glass window shattered. Oliver and Sara whirled around as a man in a uniform identical to Malcolm Merlyn jumped in front of them. Sara tensed, knowing this was coming as Oliver nearly started. He almost mistook him for Merlyn but no, the man was slightly shorter than Malcolm was. Who was it then, Oliver wondered.

The man drew his sword and swung it at Sara. She dodged and she and Oliver then began trading blows with the man. Sara delivered a kick to the man’s abdomen and he stumbled back as she and Oliver ran. Oliver knocked over a chair to slow him down but the man rolled over it as they retreated. Seeing a large wooden molding above them, Sara jumped up, grabbed it, and managed, to Oliver’s surprise, yank it down.

Whirling it like a baton, Sara attempted to strike the man with it but he dodged her strikes. He brought up his sword, aiming for her head but she used the staff to block. Oliver struck him in the head but he was barely fazed, striking Oliver in the stomach and sending him falling over the couch. He grabbed the end of Sara’s staff and cut it off with his sword before striking Sara in the face with the hilt of his sword three times in quick succession. The blows sent Sara to the ground as Oliver returned to the fight. 

Oliver grabbed a candle stick holder and used it to block the man’s sword. Dodging the man’s strike, he jumped over him, whirling in the air. The man paused, shocked. This allowed Oliver to grab him by the arm and throw him across the room. He landed on a table, which broke upon impact as he fell to the ground. Oliver was then there, grabbing him by the neck. Ripping off his mask, Oliver frowned as he saw the unfamiliar man.

“Who are you?” Oliver demanded.

“A follower, just like you,” the man said ad Oliver frowned in confusion. “I know who taught you that move. Where do you think she learned it?”

Oliver’s confusion was the opening he needed. Pulling out a dagger, he threw it at a chandelier above Sara. The dagger cut through the chains holding it and it fell. The man then kicked Oliver in the chest, sending him down as Sara rolled out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting hit by the chandelier. When they both looked up, he was gone.

Arrow lair  
Later in the afternoon 

Sara was walking around, looking at the set up when she paused, looking at Oliver’s suit. Specifically, the hood.

“I remember the first time I saw this hood, Shado was wearing it,” Sara said wistfully before looking over at Oliver. “This is quiet the set up you’ve got here where you’re launching you one man war for Starling.” 

“Bu I’m not one man,” Oliver said as Diggle and Felicity walked in. “Sara, these are my friends, John Diggle and Felicity Smoak. Guys, this is Sara.”

“Welcome home Sara,” Diggle said politely as she stared at them blankly.

"I was happy to hear you're not dead anymore," Felicity blurted out. "I mean, I didn't know you before you didn't die the first time. I'm still glad you're alive."

“You’re cute,” Sara said with a tight smile.

“We just got an uninvited visitor at the Queen Mansion,” Oliver said, bringing their focus to him. "Trained. Highly skilled. And he was dressed like Merlyn."

“Last I checked, Malcolm Merlyn was dead, curtesy of an arrow jammed through the heart,” Diggle said in shock.

“It wasn’t him, but he claimed he was a follower,” Oliver said and Sara looked away. “And that’s not all.”

“What is it?” Diggle asked. “I mean, this guy knows who you are, what else is there?”

“When we fought, I surprised him with a move, a very specific move. I learned it two years ago from a woman I met in Russia. He implied she learned it from him,” Oliver said, getting up and handing a bag of dirt to Felicity. “If that’s true, I need you to find him. He tracked that into The Queen Mansion.”

“I don’t want you to,” Sara suddenly said and the three of them turned to face her. “He’s not after you, he’s after me.”

“What?” Oliver asked wearily as he walked over to him.

“He’s called Al-Owal, The First. He’s member of the League of Assassins,” Sara admitted.

The reaction to these words were almost instant. Oliver nearly stepped back, his face visibly shocked as Diggle looked at Sara in complete disbelief. The only one who looked confused at this was Felicity. 

“The League of Assassins? I thought they were just a myth,” Diggle said in disbelief.

“What’s the League of Assassins? And please, don't say it's a league made up of assassins," Felicity pleaded.

“No, it's an urban legend. I heard about them in Afghanistan from a tribal leader. He claimed there was an ancient sect of assassins, deadly warriors that killed and vanished like ghosts. Thought he was smoking what he was selling,” Diggle said as Oliver stepped away from Sara, processing this.

“I tried to tell you Ollie but you wouldn’t listen,” Sara said as Oliver turned back to her.

“That’s where you’ve been the last four years. That’s where you learned to fight. You’re one of them,” Oliver realized. 

"After the freighter, a member of The League rescued me; took me in and brought me to Nanda Parbat. They remade me into what I am. And I swore them my allegiance,” Sara told him as she stared at him sadly.

“So why are they kicking down doors to find you now?” Diggle inquired and she looked over her shoulder at him.

“Because I left. And there’s only one way you leave the League,” Sara said, none of them having any doubt what she meant by that.

“Is that why you didn’t wanna see your family?” Oliver inquired and Sara was silent for a moment.

“A year ago, I was in Guyana. I was sent there for a man named Suarez,” Sara said, looking away from Oliver. “He was a local diplomat. And I slit his throat. His kids found his body in the morning.”

The room was silent for a moment as the three processed this. Felicity looked unnerved while Diggle looked like he really wasn’t sure what to think. However, Oliver looked at Sara with understanding eyes.

"I'm a murderer, Ollie. You think that my family will be happy to see me?" Sara asked sarcastically as she looked up at him.

Oliver didn’t respond, and Sara turned and walked off.

Bar  
Same time

Roy put on his jacket, about to head out after his shift when he saw Jade walk up to him.

“Hey, I’m gonna head out. See you tomorrow,” Roy waved as he started.

“Roy,” Jade asked and he paused. “Would you like to go get drinks later?”

“Jade,” Roy paused, trying to find words. “I just got out of a serious relationship; I don’t think a date is the best idea.”

“Roy, relax, it’s just drinks with a coworker,” Jade said with a smile. “Come on, what could it hurt?”

Roy paused, hesitating. While her words made sense, at times, he saw Jade give him this look and it just…it made him feel like she wanted more. But, he could be imagining it, he reasoned. Besides, what could it hurt?

“Sure, what the heck? Been a while since I had some fun,” Roy said with a shrug. 

Arrow lair  
Later

Sara was working out her frustrations on a practice dummy when Oliver walked up behind her. She stopped, leaning against the dummy as the silence became almost deafening. 

“If you’re here to tell me I should have told you-” Sara started.

“I’m not,” Oliver quickly assured her. “Like I said earlier, I know something about secrets.”

“Thank you for understanding. And for not judging me,” Sara said gratefully as she turned around to face him. “But I think we both know that’s not all you came here to say.”

“You’re right, I didn’t,” Oliver acknowledged as he walked over to her. “I think you’re wrong about your family.”

“Weren’t you listening? I’m a killer Ollie,” Sara snapped.

“So am I,” Oliver pointed out. “My family still accepts me.” 

“Only because they don’t know the truth,” Sara snapped.

“Yes they do,” Oliver said, taking her back. “Thea put it together after The Undertaking. And my mom told me today she knows to. They both know who I am Sara and they both accept me. I know how hard it is to open yourself up after feeling so hollowed out inside that you can’t even consider putting yourself out there with the people you love. But Sara…this isn’t living.”

“It’s different for you Ollie. The things I’ve done-” Sara started.

“After the Freighter, I was…recruited by a government agency to stop the Chinese Triad from unleashing a biological weapon on China,” Oliver cut her off and she paused, listening. “I failed and someone I cared about…they didn’t make it. I found the man responsible and I-I tortured him. For hours. Not because I had to…but because I wanted to. I wanted him to suffer for what he had done.”

Sara was silent, staring at him in shock as Oliver smiled tightly.

“Still think you’re the only one beyond redemption?” Oliver asked dryly. “It took me a long time to find my way back from that…but I did. So can you, if you try. You can’t live on an island, I’ve tried. It doesn’t take.”

“Hey,” the conversation was interrupted as Diggle walked up behind Oliver. “Felicity found something.” 

"Spectro analysis of the dirt from your house had trace amounts of aldicarb in them,” Felicity told them as they stood behind her at the computers.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Oliver asked.

“It’s a pesticide. Starling City used to have its own aldicarb plant, but per the EPA, it was shut down three years ago,” Felicity explained.

“What’s it being used for now?” Oliver inquired.

“It’s been abandoned for the last few years,” Felicity said and Oliver nodded.

“Which makes it the perfect place for Al-Owal to use while in Starling City,” Oliver said as he moved towards his bow.

“Ollie, he will kill you,” Sara protested.

“He wouldn’t be the first to try,” Oliver said as he grabbed his bow.

“Ollie, this is my fight,” Sara argued.

“He made it mine when he came into my house,” Oliver snapped as he whirled around to face her. “And threatened someone I cared about.”

“Fine,” Sara said after a moment. “But we do this together.”

Starling City  
Later

At the old plant, Al-Owal was sharpening his weapons. Putting the whetstone down, he was inspecting the blade when his hand suddenly shot out. He caught an arrow, stopping it mere inches from his head. 

“Impressive, most impressive,” Al-Owal said as he threw the arrow down. “One without League training would have died from that without ever sensing your presence. She has taught you well.”

“You’re gonna leave Sara Lance alone. This is your only warning,” Oliver’s voice rang out and Al-Owal laughed. 

“And it would be effective, were you to pose a threat to me,” Al-Owal said arrogantly as he began walking through the plant. “You barely defeated Malcolm Merlyn, at nearly the cost of your own life. What hope do you think you have against the man who trained him?” 

Al-Owal rounded a corner and saw Oliver standing on a ledge, looking down at him. Al-Owal looked up at him, smirking. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t eager to test himself against Talia’s student. Since her departure decades earlier, the League had only heard whispers of her and her League of Shadows. To test his skills against that of someone taught by his former student would certainly be a privilege and an honor. 

“It helps that I didn’t come alone,” Oliver said.

Sensing a presence behind him, Al-Owal turned around to see Sara on a catwalk, her baton over her shoulder.

“The child of Ra’s al Ghul awaits your return,” he said but Sara showed no visible reaction.

“I’m not going back,” Sara said firmly.

"That's not your choice. I have orders to return you, alive or dead," Al-Owal warned her.

“You’re not going to kill me,” Sara said confidently. 

“You overestimate your important. Regardless, you’re coming back with us,” Al-Owal said, surprised by the smirk that crossed her face.

“If ‘us’ is the two other assassins in the building, they’re taking a nap,” Oliver said, taking aim at him. “You’ll have to face us alone.”

“Good. It has been some time since I’ve been faced with such a challenge,” AL-Owal said, whirling his sword. 

Oliver fired but Al-Owal cut the arrow down as Oliver and Sara both jumped towards him. Al-Owal used his sword, impressively managing to black both Oliver’s bow and Sara’s baton. Al-Owal delivered a powerful kick to Sara’s abdomen, sending her to the ground as he continued the fight with Oliver. Oliver ducked a strike from Al-Owal’s sword, which hit a steam pipe, cutting it. The steam clouded Al-Owal’s vision enough that Oliver was able to land a hit with the bow, followed up by a punch to the face. Al-Owal went down, dazed, before Sara was there. She yanked him up and he was on his knees before sliding her staff under his neck.

“You think because you are the beloved, you will be granted your freedom?” Al-Owal sneered.

“There’s only one freedom, let me grant you yours,” Sara snarled. 

With a twist, there was sickening crack and Al-Owal stilled. She let him go and his body fell to the floor.

“More will come, my family will never be safe as long as I’m here,” Sara said as she looked up at Oliver, who watched her silently. “I have to go Ollie.”

“I know,” Oliver said, remembering the stories Talia had told him of Ra’s al Ghul. 

“Watch over my family for me. If Ra’s comes after them-” 

“He’ll have me to deal with,” Oliver promised and she nodded, grateful.

“Keep them safe,” Sara said before she turned and ran. 

Oliver watched her until she disappeared from sight, feeling a hole form in his heart.

Arrow lair  
Later

“So she left,” Diggle noted after Oliver had told them what happened.

“I’m sorry. I liked her,” Felicity said and Oliver smiled tightly.

“If you’d met before the island...I think you two would have gotten along,” Oliver said with a sigh. “Ra’s al Ghul may target Lance and Laurel; we need to keep an eye on them from now on.”

“Of course,” Diggle said with a nod.

“So what do we do now?” Felicity asked and Oliver was silent.

“It’s been a long day. You two have the night off. Head home, have some fun or get some sleep. We’ll meet at Queen Consolidated tomorrow,” Oliver said with a sigh as he started to walk off. 

Queen Mansion  
Night

“Whoa, what happened here?” Thea asked as she walked in, seeing Oliver cleaning up the mess from earlier.

“It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later,” Oliver said as he threw some glass into the trash. “How’s Mom?”

“Well, she’s not taking Donner’s deal, so we’ll be going to court,” Thea said and Oliver nodded. “Ollie…are things ever going to be okay with you two again?”

“I don’t know,” Oliver said after a moment. “What she did, it’s almost unforgivable. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to get passed it…but I’m trying.”

After a beat, Thea nodded. She supposed that was the best she could hope for. She wasn’t any happier than Oliver when she found out about William; she can’t really expect him to get over it so quickly. 

“Are you with what she told you…about me?” Thea asked and he looked at her sharply.

“When did she tell you?” he inquired.

“About the time Laurel and I went to find you on Lian Yu,” Thea said truthfully.

“Are you okay with that?” Oliver asked concerned.

“It took a while to sink in, but…Robert Queen was my dad, not Malcolm Merlyn. And he will always be,” Thea said firmly before looking back at him. “But…are you okay with this?”

“Speedy, no matter who your biological father is, nothing will ever change how I feel about you. I promise,” Oliver said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

Thea smiled weakly before hugging him, which he eagerly returned. They stayed like that for a few moments before Oliver let her go.

“Come on,” Oliver said, gesturing at her to follow him into the kitchen.

Not long after, Thea sat at a small table as Oliver sat two cups in front of them, holding a bottle of Russian Vodka.

“You know I’m underage, right?” Thea asked dryly.

“I think we both know you never let that stop you,” Oliver pointed out and Thea shrugged, conceding. “An old friend gave this to me, told me I’d know when the time came to drink it.”

“And that’s now?” Thea asked as Oliver uncorked the liquor.

“I’m not sure…but I could really use a drink,” Oliver said before pouring the liquor into the glasses.

Thea nodded, knowing whatever had happened today had clearly shaken him. Oliver put the bottle down and raised his glass, Thea following suit.

"Prochnost,” Oliver toasted.

“What does that mean?” Thea asked confused.

Oliver’s only response was to smile amused as they clinked glasses. They took a drink and Thea almost gagged at the liquor.

“Yeah, it’s strong, takes a while to get used to it,” Oliver said as he set his glass down.

“Well, torturing my taste buds aside, is there a reason you felt compelled to drink?” Thea said as she set her glass down and Oliver was silent for a moment.

“My past…it doesn’t wanna stay buried, no matter how hard I try,” Oliver said after a moment. “I’m tired of fighting it. You told me once I had to let someone in.”

“Ollie-” Thea started.

“It’s okay Speedy, it’s okay,” Oliver sighed, sitting down across from her. “You were right, I needed to. I just wasn’t ready. But I’m ready now. The five years I was away…I wasn’t always on the island…” 

Nanda Parbat, next day  
Morning

“So Al-Owal is no longer with us and Ta-er al-Sahfer has fled Starling City,” Ra’s noted as one of the assassins who had been with Al-Owal knelt before him.

“There is more my Liege,” the assassins said and Ra’s raised an eyebrow. “According to Al-Owal, Oliver Queen, the vigilante known as The Hood, was a student of your daughter, Talia.”

“Talia?” Ra’s’ stoic mast broke to reveal surprise. “You are certain?”

“Al-Owal claimed Oliver Queen knew fighting techniques he could only have learned from her,” the assassin said.

“Dismissed,” Ra’s said after a moment.

The assassin nodded rising and leaving the room. Ra’s rose to his feet, walking out to the window overlooking his city. Talia, Ra’s mused, what have you unleashed?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me get this straight Arrow writers. Sara, who spent years with the League, is stupid enough to think Al-Owal would com alone. Yeah, that makes sense; it’s not weird at all. 
> 
> Sara has left for a bit, but she will not stay gone as long as she did in the show. 
> 
> Now, next chapter, I’m gonna take a short break from the episodic format of the story and explore some of the main storylines going on in the story.


	15. Bar brawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver receives a lead on Chase while Roy attempts to help Sin out of a jam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I’m not sure if I said this before or not, Jade would be portrayed by Jamie Chung if this was the show.

Queen Consolidated   
Morning

“No,” Oliver said firmly as he and Isabel met in his office.

“Oliver-” Isabel started.

“No. Do you realize what this could be used for if it ever fell into the wrong hands? And as I recall, I own the majority of the shares of Queen Consolidated, so I outrank you. Shut it down Isabel,” Oliver said almost growling.

“Fine, have it your way,” Isabel sneered before she turned around and stormed out.

Oliver leaned back in his chair, irritation bubbling off him. He was grateful Felicity had the sense not to approach him right now; he was not in the mood for her questions. His phone vibrated and he pulled it out. Seeing an unfamiliar number on the screen, he frowned before he answered.

“Hello?” 

“We have the information you seek,” a man said in Russian.

Starling City  
Afternoon

Oliver walked into the garage, where the new leader of the Brava’s Starling City branch was waiting for him. By the dirty look he was shooting Oliver, he had put together that Oliver was the one who tipped Anatoly of about Alexi’s defiance. Not that he could do anything, Anatoly would have the head of anyone who made a move on Oliver without his say so. 

“What do you have?” Oliver asked as he reached the man.

“Simon Morrison, or as he is now known as, Adrian Chase lives in an apartment in Blud Haven,” the man said as he handed the file to Oliver. “You got Alexi killed.”

“As I recall, Alexi got himself killed by not obeying Anatoly’s orders. He should know that as Pakhan, Anatoly’s word is law,” Oliver said as he looked through the file. “I hope you do better at that than Alexi did.”

The man seethed as Oliver turned and walked out with the file.

Arrow lair  
Later in the afternoon

“So now we know where he is. Now what?” Felicity asked as she, Oliver, and Diggle stood in the lair. 

“John Felicity…you have the night of,” Oliver said as he closed the file. “I’m heading to Blud Haven. I’ll be in touch.”

“Oliver, what are you planning on doing once you find Chase?” Diggle demanded and Oliver was silent for a moment.

“I don’t know,” Oliver finally admitted. 

“So you’re just gonna kill him?” Felicity asked hesitantly.

“Like I said, I don’t know. But he’s clearly a potential threat so dangerous that Lance felt he had to warn me about him, so yes, I am willing to kill him if I have to. There are people in this world that deal only in extreme measures. It would be naïve to think anything less than extreme measures would stop them. If you two have a problem with that, don’t be here when I come back,” Oliver bluntly.

Starling City  
Night

In a bar, Roy sat at a table, waiting as he checked his watch for the second time. But he didn’t need to wait for much longer, as his friend arrived.

“Hey, sorry I’m late, I had to stop for gas on the way here,” Jade said as she sat down. “Hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

“No, just been here a few minutes,” Roy said as he looked at what she was wearing. “You look nice.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Jade said with a wink.

“Yo Abercrombie!”

Roy tensed as he heard the voice behind him. Turning around in his seat, Roy saw Sin approach with a smirk.

“Fancy running into you here,” Sin said casually as she reached the table.

“Sin,” Roy greeted coolly, fighting to keep his voice normal.

“And I see you’re not alone,” Sin noted as she eyed Jade. “Hot date?”

“Sin, this is Jade. Jade, Sin,” Roy said pointedly not even responding to Sin’s question.

“Nice to meet you,” Jade said with a smile that looked far more predatory than politely. 

“Nice to you,” Sin said sarcastically before leaning close to Roy so Jade wouldn’t hear. “Does she know you’re the Vigilante’s errand boy?”

Roy did not respond except to narrow his eyes as Sin walked away.

“How do you know her?” Jade inquired.

“From around,” Roy said vaguely. 

Blud Haven  
Same time

Adrian Chase got out of his car and was heading towards his apartment when he felt something prick him in the neck. Grimacing, he pulled it out and saw it was tranq dart before it all went black.

Bar  
Later 

Roy and Jade were getting ready to call it a night when Roy saw something that made him concerned. Sin was at the bar when she froze. Following her gaze, Roy saw a woman and two men had entered the bar. Sin quickly fled, heading towards the bathroom. Roy only got more concerned when the woman and men followed Sin.

“I’ll be right back,” Roy told Jade.

Without waiting for a response, Roy got up and followed after them. Reaching the bathroom, Roy found one of the men standing guard in front of the ladies’ room. Not a good sign.

“Hey, I think my friend is in there. I’m getting a little worried about her,” Roy said as he walked up to the man.

“Well she’s not, she must have left,” the man grunted.

“Is that so?” Roy asked casually.

Suddenly, Roy heard Sin’s scream from inside the bathroom. Knowing for certain now that Sin was in trouble, Roy sent a kick to the man’s abdomen, taking him by surprise. The man stumbled through the door and Roy followed him. The woman had sin up against a wall in the corner, a knife at her throat. 

“You okay Sin?” Roy asked but it was clear by the fear in her eyes that she wasn’t.

“Get out of here and mind your own business,” the man who had come in with the woman sneered.

“Can’t do that,” Roy said as he eyed Sin.

“Abercrombie, just leave, they’ll kill you!” Sin said worriedly.

“Wouldn’t be the first to try,” Roy said, clenching his fist. 

The man who had stood guard over the bathroom took a swing at Roy but Roy ducked before elbowing the man in the face. The second man then lunged at Roy with a knife but Roy ducked out of the way. The man jumped on Roy and they wrestled on the ground for a moment before Roy wacked the knife out of his hand. The knife landed on the floor before Roy punched the man. 

Roy pushed the man off him as the second man rushed him. Roy pulled out the flechette Oliver had given him and stabbed him in the side with it. Roy yanked the blood soaked weapon out as the man fell on his side, clutching his wound. The other man picked up his knife but, before he could do anything, the door slammed open, hitting him and making him drop the knife.

“Hope you boys haven’t started without me,” Jade said with a smirk.

The man she had hit with the door roared as he lunged at her but Jade sent a spinning kick at him, knocking him into the mirror. At the same time, the woman holding the knife at Sin’s throat let Sin go as she rushed Roy. Roy dodged her strike and, when she tried to rebound to get him, Roy grabbed her arm, stopping her knife inches from his face. Roy then tossed her against the wall as the man rushed Jade once more. But Jade sent a kick between his legs and he fell to his knees, clutching the spot she hit before Jade kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold.

At the same time, the woman rushed Roy, tackling him to the ground. Roy lost his flechette as he fell to his back, grabbing the woman’s hands as he tried to stop her from stabbing him. Then, suddenly, the woman howled in pain as the flechette suddenly hit her in the shoulder. Roy kneed her in the stomach, knocking her of before Jade kicked her in the back of the head; knocking her out. Roy and Jade looked over at Sin, who had been the one to throw the flechette.

“Look out!” Sin suddenly shouted.

Roy whirled around to see the man who he had stabbed with his flechette coming for him. But Jade had picked up a knife the woman had dropped and stabbed him in the chest. He went down, dead, and the three of them stared at the scene, trying to absorb what had just happened.

“What’s going on Sin? Why were these guys trying to kill you?” Roy asked.

“It doesn’t matter, I saw more of them out there,” Jade said and Roy swore.

“What do I do?” Sin asked in a panic and Roy was silent for a moment as he thought out his next move.

“Jade, get Sin to your car. We go out there and you get her there, no matter what happens,” Roy ordered.

A few minutes later, Jade was leading Sin out through the bar when a man moved to grab Sin. However, Roy grabbed the man by the arm and threw him into a table. Everything in the bar stopped as everyone looked to see what was going on.

“Jade, go,” Roy ordered.

As Jade led Sin out, Roy and the man began exchanging blows. Roy was then attacked from behind by another man, who put him in a chokehold. However, Roy grabbed an empty glass off a table and smashed it into the man’s face. The man cried out in pain before Roy grabbed him and threw him into the man who had tried to grab Sin. Before Roy knew it, it had turned into an all-out bar brawl.

Outside, Jade and Sin had made it to the car when a man stepped out to stop them. However, Jade pulled out a knife and slit his throat, to Sin’s shock as the body ell to the floor.

“Come on, let’s go,” Jade said, getting in the car and Sin didn’t need to be told twice.

Blud Haven  
Same time

Adrian woke up, tied to a chair in a dimly lit room. Standing a few feet from him was Oliver, dressed in his suit with the hood up.

“Adrian Chase. Or would you prefer Simon Morrison?” Oliver asked and Chase seemed surprise before he laughed.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you know who I am Oliver,” Chase said, smirking as he Oliver tense. “Yeah. I did my research on you as well. After all, you killed my father.”

“You do realize your father was a psychopath who was going to kill hundred to turn a profit, right?” Oliver asked. 

The sick grin on Adrian’s face gave it away. He knew, he just didn’t care. 

“So what happens now?” Chase asked.

“You’re no threat to me, not as you are now,” Oliver said after a moment. “I’ll call Amanda Waller; she owes me a few favors. I’m sure she can find a use for you.”

“Well, you must really hate me if you’re going to send me to her, after what she did to you,” Chase noted as Oliver turned around and started to walk away. “Say hi to William for me.”

Oliver froze his hand halfway to the door. Chase knew about his son. That severely limited his options. He wouldn’t put it passed Waller to try and use William to force him into servitude again. It wouldn’t be the first time she used a child for her own benefit, Oliver thought darkly as he saw Akio in his mind’s eye. Chase couldn’t go to Waller, but he was too dangerous to be left unchecked. There was only one option, Oliver realized with a sinking feeling.

Lowering his hand to his side, Oliver slowly walked behind Chase before putting him in a chokehold. 

“There’s the killer I know and love,” Chase laughed insanely.

“I’m sorry…but no one can know my secret,” Oliver said regretfully. 

With a twist, there was a sickening crack and Chase knew no more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The bathroom fight was inspired by the one from Punisher season two.
> 
> Now, for Chase, I wouldn’t put it passed him to bring William up to try and goad Oliver into killing him out of a belief that doing so would prove him right about Oliver.


	16. Sin's problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sin tells Roy why people are after her as Oliver offers a solution.

Arrow lair  
Night

Oliver walked into the lair, unsurprised to see Diggle and Felicity waiting for him. He had expected it.

“So how’d it go?” Diggle asked as Oliver put his bow back.

“Fine,” Oliver said vaguely.

“For you. What about Simon Morrison?” Diggle asked and Oliver was silent.

“I did what I had to do to protect those I love,” Oliver finally said, leaving no illusions about what that entailed. 

Diggle and Felicity were silent and Oliver fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“I can feel your judgment from here,” Oliver said sarcastically as he turned around to face them. “Like I told you, if you have a problem with my methods, you know where the door is. If you’re sticking around out of some misguided notion you can ‘save’ me from myself, don’t. I’m not looking for redemption or salvation. This is who I am and I’m done apologizing for that.”

“And I’m not asking you to. I thought I could change you, but I see now I was fooling myself. I’m here because what we do is important, that’s all,” Diggle said and Oliver nodded.

“And you?” Oliver asked as he looked at Felicity.

“What we do, it’s important. I can swallow my discomfort…or now,” Felicity said and Oliver nodded. 

“Glad we finally all understand each other,” Oliver said before his phone rang.

Pulling it out, he frowned as he saw it was Thea.

“Thea?” Oliver answered.

Starling City Police Department  
Later 

Roy was in an interrogation room, cuffed to the table when the door opened. Roy looked over as Detective Hilton walked into the room, closing the door behind him. 

“So, first you were fighting in the street, now you’re starting bar fights. You’re moving up kid,” Hilton said as he sat down across from Roy. “Why don’t you tell me what happened.”

“Why should I?” Roy asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, right now I’m the only one here on your side,” Hilton pointed out.

He made a good argument, Roy noted. And Hilton had been Quentin’s partner for several years, so he couldn’t be all bad. Roy was still trying to decide whether he could trust Hilton when the door opened and Pike walked in, looking none too pleased.

“Let him go,” Pike said and both Roy and Hilton looked at him in surprise.

“What?” Hilton asked in surprise.

“His bail’s been posted and Laurel Lance called me, told me unless we were planning on charging him with something, to let him go or the DA’s office would be looking into why we were arresting Good Samaritans,” Pike said, looking like he’d swallowed a lemon. “Harper, you must have some friends in high places. Your ride is here.”

“My ride?” Roy repeated in confusion.

A little later, Roy walked out of the precinct to see Oliver and Diggle waiting in front of a limo.

“John, can you give us a minute,” Oliver said more than asked as Roy walked over to them.

Diggle simply gave a nod, opening the driver’s side door and getting in, leaving the two alone.

“You bailed me out and placed the call to Laurel Lance,” Roy said and Oliver nodded. “Why?”

“Because my sister cares about you, even though you broke up with her. By the way, since you’re not together anymore, you might want to remove her as your emergency contact,” Oliver pointed out and Roy nodded.

“Noted,” Roy said.

“I hope you didn’t break up with my sister just to get into bar fights,” Oliver said and Roy to annoyed.

“I was out with a friend from work when I saw someone I knew in trouble, some people were after her. I wasn’t just gonna stand by and let them hurt her. From the sounds of it, she’d be dead if I hadn’t shown up when I did,” Roy said hotly and Oliver softened.

“You’re right, you did the right thing,” Oliver said, taking Roy back. “I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you.”

“It’s cool. With my record, can’t say I blame you,” Roy said with a shrug.

“Your friend, where is she now?” Oliver inquired.

Starling City  
Later

In a house that was decent for what The Glades had to offer, Sin was sitting on a couch, shakily taking a sip of the tea Jade had offered her. Sin suddenly tensed as they heard a car roll up outside. Jade signaled for Sin to be quiet before walking up to the side of a window, positioning herself so she couldn’t be seen. Jade looked out it and stared, a mix of bewilderment and relief dancing across her face.

“It’s Roy…and you won’t believe who’s with him,” Jade said in a voice full of disbelief.

Jade opened the door and Sin looked on in shock as Roy walked in with Oliver Queen.

“Sin, you okay?” Roy asked as he walked over and Sin nodded mutely.

“Knew you had strange friends, but this takes the cake,” Sin muttered.

“Right. Oliver, this is Sin and Jade. Jade, Sin, Oliver Queen,” Roy said as he introduced them.

“And what are you doing here?” Jade asked Oliver curiously.

“I bailed Roy out of jail,” Oliver said simply.

“And how do you two know each other?” Sin asked as she looked back and forth between Oliver and Roy.

“He used to date my sister,” Oliver said and Jade laughed.

“Well then you’re a lucky man Roy. I know people who would have killed you for breaking up with their sister,” Jade said amused but Roy ignored her, focusing on Sin.

“Sin…who were those guys?” Roy asked.

“I don’t know,” Sin said but it was obvious to all of them that she was lying.

“Oliver, Jade, can we have a minute?” Roy asked after a moment.

“Yeah,” Jade said, glancing over at Oliver “Want anything? We have tea, beer, soda.”

“Tea would be great, thanks,” Oliver said as they two walked out, leaving Roy and Sin alone.

“Sin, if I hadn’t shown up when I did, you would be dead,” Roy said.

“Am I supposed to feel grateful Abercrombie? I was there. From where I was standing, it seemed like you were happy for the excuse,” Sin snapped but Roy ignored her.

“Sin, I grew up in The Glades to. I saw them, they’re not gonna stop. Best case scenario, you stay saw for one night before those guys are back on the street. I want to help Sin, but I can’t if you don’t trust me,” Roy said gently and Sin regarded him silently for a moment. “I know you learned not to let anyone in, not to trust anyone. But you can trust me alright? Let me help you.”

“Those guys work for the Chinese Triad,” Sin finally said, surprising Roy.

“How did you get involved with the Triad?” Roy asked and Sin sighed.

“A few months back, I was a courier for them; it put food on the table. Then I saw something I shouldn’t have and I ran,” Sin said and Roy nodded.

“And now they’re after you,” Roy muttered and she nodded. “And your friend in leather?” 

“She protected me but I never told her the truth, she just assumed it was typical Glades stuff. She didn’t know I’d be in danger if she left,” Sin said as she looked up at Roy. “You can’t help me Abercrombie.”

“You’re right, he can’t, but I can,” the pair looked over to see Oliver reenter the room. 

“What?’ Sin asked confused as Roy watched, curious about where Oliver was going.

“My house is like a fortress, there are multiple guards stationed outside. My body guard, John Diggle is former military. You would be safe until we can figure out another solution,” Oliver offered.

“You want me to stay in the Queen mansion,” Sin said like he had just suggested he become a ballerina. “Can’t exactly picture myself with a dozen servants.”

“Do you really have any other options?” Roy said pointedly and Sin reluctantly had to agree that she didn’t.

“It’s only temporary, then you can go back to your life or whatever you want,” Oliver offered and Sin sighed, knowing she didn’t have any other options.

“Okay…okay,” Sin finally agreed.

Queen Mansion  
Later

Oliver, Diggle and Sin walked through the front door, Sin looking around the room, trying and failing not to look impressed.

“Not bad, makes my old crib look like a dusty closet,” Sin said.

“Its home I guess,” Oliver shrugged as Thea walked in.

“Hi, you must be Sin. I’m Thea,” Thea said politely, holding out a hand to Sin.

“Harper’s ex-girlfriend,” Sin noted as they shook hands. “How did Thea Queen end up dating a former gangbanger from The Glades?”

“He stole my purse,” Thea said honestly and Sin stared at her oddly.

“I’m not even gonna ask,” Sin muttered as they dropped hands.

“Thea, why don’t you show Sin to her room?” Oliver suggested and Thea nodded.

“Sure, you’ll be taking the room down the hall from mine,” Thea said as she began leading Sin up the stairs.

“What’s your plan Oliver? Even you can’t take down the Triad,” Diggle pointed out once they were out of hearing range.

“I don’t have to. I just have to find out who ordered the hit on Sin…and then make them call it off,” Oliver said darkly. 

Unspecified location   
Same time

Cecil Adams, known by his street name The Count, was working on his new brand of Vertigo when suddenly there was a knife at his throat. With a slash, his throat was slit. The Count gasped as blood poured down his throat before he fell to the floor, dead. China White smirked as she twirled her bloodied knife.

“Sorry, but if anyone is going to make trouble for Oliver Queen, it’s going to be me,” she smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not a whole lot happened this chapter, but it is planting the seeds for some important plots later on.
> 
> And now we’ll be getting back to the canon timeline. I’m not going to be covering 2x06, because the Russia plot would have little changes aside from Oliver not sleeping with Isabel and the Roy/Thea subplot wouldn’t happen at all because of them not being together.


	17. The trial begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moira's trial begins but everyone is thrown for a loop when a shocking turn of events takes place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would have had this chapter up a few days ago but the reviews were down, which is a real inspiration killer, let me tell you. Hope you guys enjoy this.

Queen Mansion  
Morning

In the sitting room, Sin was on the couch, flipping through channels when she came upon a news report on the trial.

“Today marks the beginning of the much anticipated trial of Moira Queen for her role in The Undertaking. The stakes for the defense are high, with the prosecution seeking the death penalty.”

Sin quickly turned the channel when Oliver walked in, but judging by the look on his face, she knew she hadn’t been fast enough. 

“How can you have over nine hundred channels and have nothing good on?” Sin tried to play it off but Oliver wasn’t fooled.

“It’s okay Sin, you don’t have to pretend. My mother was involved with something terrible, I’m sure you must have a lot of anger towards her,” Oliver said but Sin just shrugged. 

“No really. I mean, a psychopath threatened her family. Honestly wish I had a mom who cared about me as much as yours cares about you,” Sin said wistfully before looking up at Oliver. “So, if she does get cleared and comes home, I guess she won’t want me here, huh?”

“If she does come home, she’ll have to deal with it,” Oliver said firmly, inwardly thinking he needed to find out who put the hit out on Sin fast.

Unspecified location  
Same time

China White was sharpening her knives when Jade walked up behind her.

“I thought Slade told you to stay away from Oliver Queen for now?” Jade said.

“He did,” White acknowledged as she stopped to examine her knife. “But I have waited a very long time for my revenge. Not even Slade Wilson will stop me from taking it.”

White then whirled around and threw her knife. The knife flew passed Jade and hit the wall, which had a picture of Oliver on it.

“Oliver Queen will finally pay for what he has done,” White said darkly.

Starling City  
Later in the morning

Diggle opened the car door and helped Oliver and Thea out. As reporters swarmed them, Laurel and Donner watched from the courthouse steps.

“This isn’t fair, they’re not the ones on trial,” Laurel said angrily.

“Well that won’t stop Jean Loring from using them as props to draw sympathy,” Donner noted.

“You don’t seem overly concerned,” Laurel noted.

“She confessed to being an accomplice on live television,” Donner said smugly.

“She also said Malcolm Merlyn coerced her,” Laurel said before she saw Donner’s smirk. “You have something, don’t you? I thought I was your co-counsel Adam. If you’re holding a trump card, don’t you think you should share it with me?” 

“It’s going to be a good trial. Come on, we should get inside,” Donner said smugly.

As Donner walked inside, Oliver and Thea were being led inside, ignoring the hounding reporters. Oliver looked over at her and she looked at him helplessly. 

Later, inside the courthouse, everyone sat in the courtroom as the door opened. Moira, in handcuffs, was led into the room. Oliver clenched his fists, fighting not to go over to Donner and snap his neck at the smug look on the DA’s face. As if sensing his thoughts, Thea laid her hand on Oliver’s wrist, preventing him from doing anything. 

Moira was then uncuffed and she took her seat. Glancing back at her children, Moira smiled reassuringly before the trial began.

“Prosecution, you may present your opening argument,” the judge said.

“Thank you Your Honor,” Donner said as he got to his feet. “Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I’d like to turn your attention to the statement Moira Queen gave that fateful day.”

The flat screen turned on and Moira’s face was on it as she gave her press conference six months ago. 

“-have been complicit in an undertaking with one horrible purpose- to destroy the Glades and everyone in it,” Donner paused the playback as Moira winced.

“And it worked. Homes were lost and lives were destroyed. All because of her actions,” Donner began, pointing right at Moira. “True, she had second thoughts; remorse which compelled her to deliver this statement. But on behalf of the five hundred and three lives that were extinguished that day, I say, Moira Queen, your remorse comes too late."

Donner took his seat and Jean stood up as Oliver silently prayed she had a good defense to that. Jean silently picked up the remote and rewound the clip before pressing play.

“For the past five years, under the threat of my life and the lives of my family-”

Jean then paused the clip before turning to address the jury.

"Why wouldn't those threats silence her? Why wouldn't Moira Queen be terrified? Malcolm Merlyn killed her first husband, abducted her second,” Jean pointed out as she began. “Why wouldn't she be in fear for her life? For the lives of her children? What would you do? If it were your children in the crosshairs of a mad man's rage?”

Oliver silently released the breath he hadn’t realized as felt Thea relax slightly next to him. However, both of them knew this fight was far from over.

Unspecified location  
Not long after

Slade was watching a report on the trial when Isabel walked up to his desk.

“I’ve received word that China White plans on taking her revenge on Oliver today, and she plans on using his mother to do it,” Isabel warned him and Slade shrugged.

“To be honest, I’m surprised she waited this long,” Slade said unconcerned. “Let her have her fun with Oliver. The Triad has outlived its usefulness either way.”

“I thought you wanted Moira to be set free, not killed?” Isabel asked confused and Slade smirked.

“I do. What China White fails to realize is that, by coming after his mother, she has unleashed a monster that will make her wish I had killed her last month. Not even God will be able to keep her safe then,” Slade chuckled darkly.

Courthouse  
Later

Thea was on the stand as Donner questioned her.

"When was the first time you heard about this so-called Undertaking?" Donner asked Thea.

“When everyone else did, when she gave the press conference,” Thea said.

“Doesn’t seem like you took it that well,” Donner noted.

“I was surprised, who wouldn’t be?” Thea argued.

As she waited for the next question, Thea noted that Donner looked flustered, appearing to be sweating. Donner cleared his throat before he continued.

“Uh, your mother was immediately taken into police custody, but I assume you went down to the precinct to see her,” Donner said.

“Um, actually, I didn’t see her until she was moved,” Thea said awkwardly.

“To the prison?” Donner asked and she nodded. “Do you remember when you visited her?" 

“Uh, not the exact date,” Thea hedged, tense.

And Oliver could imagine why. She had admitted to him that she had not visited their mother until just before she and Laurel had come to find him, almost three months after The Undertaking. With a sinking feeling, Oliver realized that Donner knew.

"It's ok; I have the visitor log here,” Donner said, picking up the book and opening it to the marked page. “July 22, over two months later. Why do long?”

“Uh, I,” Thea stammered as everyone noticed that Donner was using the table for support, starting to kneel over. “Are you okay?”

“An answer please,” Donner said forcing himself to look up at her. “Why did it take you so long to visit your mother?”

“Your Honor-” Jean started.

“No, I want to hear this,” the judge said, holding up a hand to stop her objection.

“I needed time,” Thea said, not looking at Moira. “I was-”

“Angry?” Donner supplied. “So angry that it took you over two months to forgive her?”

“It was complicated!” Thea protested.

“No, it’s very simple. You blamed your mother for what she had done,” Donner said loudly, looking at the jury. “So why shouldn’t a jury? No further…”

Whatever Donner was going to say was cut off as he collapsed. Laurel shot out of her seat as he started seizing.

“Adam!” Laurel cried out as white foam appeared in his mouth.

Laurel rushed to his side but then he went very still. She frantically checked for his vitals but found nothing. He was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I’m going to have a lot of fun with the trial episode and Donner’s death is only the beginning. Buckle up; the next few chapters are going to be a wild ride.


	18. China WHite's revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of Donner's death, White makes a bod move that puts someone Oliver loves in anger. Oliver makes a desperate gamble to protect everyone.

Starling City  
Mid afternoon

Slade was in his office, watching a news report on the Moira Queen trial. Specifically, the death of DA Donner. 

“The cause of District Attorney Adam Donner’s death is as of now unknown, although poison is speculated. Due to this tragic turn of evets, the trial has been postponed until the investigation into Donner’s death has been concluded,” the reporter said.

Slade turned off the television before picking up a glass of scotch, taking a drink. 

“Poison, nicely played,” Isabel said as she walked up behind him.

“I wish I could take the credit, but it appears as if someone else desires for Moira Queen to remain alive,” Slade mused, wondering who it could be.

Courthouse  
Night

Oliver and Moira escorted Moira out of the courthouse and towards the police transport. With the trial postponed, Moira would be transferred back to Iron Heights for the foreseeable future. 

“I’m sorry,” Thea said guiltily as they walked down the courtroom steps. “My testimony-”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Moira said softly, wanting to reach out and hug her daughter, but the cuffs around her hands prevented that. “Whatever happens, do not blame yourself Thea. This is my doing; this is the consequences of my actions. I am to blame, no one else.”

Thea didn’t look convinced but nodded as they reached the police transport. With a sad smile, she kissed both of her children on the cheek before getting in the back of the transport vehicle. The doors closed and it took off as Oliver and Thea watched until it disappeared into the distance.

In the transport, Moira sat in the back, surrounded by three police officers. She closed her eyes, trying to allow the movement of the car to lull her to sleep. 

The transport was moving down the highway, heading towards a tunnel. As they entered the tunnel, the driver saw a woman standing in the roar. The driver honked the horn to get them to move out of the way but China White just smirked. She threw one of her knives and it went through the windshield and embedded itself in the driver’s throat. They were dead within seconds and the transport swerved, flipping over on its side. 

Inside, Moira and the three officers had found themselves in a heap on one side of the back.

“Everyone alright?” one of the officers asked and got three groans of confirmation. 

“What’s happened?” Moira asked in shock.

“We’re not sure. Stay here,” one of the officers told her.

The three officers opened the door to the back and stepped out, closing the door behind them. Moira listened with baited breath at the sounds of gunfire and the officers screaming before it was quiet, save for the sound of footsteps outside. Suddenly, the door was yanked open and China White stood outside with a smirk.

“Mrs. Queen, you’ll be coming with me,” White said with a smirk.

Starling City Police Department  
Later

The precinct was amassed with reporters swarming it as Oliver, Thea, and Diggle entered the precinct. 

“Mr. Queen, Ms. Queen. I’m sorry we have to meet under these circumstances,” Pike said as he met them in the hall.

“Where is my mother?!” Thea exploded but Oliver grabbed her by the arm, trying to calm her.

“Lieutenant, what happened?” Oliver asked in a much calmer voice than his sister.

“The transport your mother was in was attacked. Best we can tell, they took out the driver first, causing the vehicle to flip on its side. The attacker killed two of the officers and injured the other before taking your mother captive. The surviving officer described the assailant as an Asian woman in her early to mid-thirties with white hair who used knives,” Pike explained and Oliver paled as Diggle tensed. “We’ve identified her as Chien Na Wei, more commonly known as China White, the Chinese Triad’s top assassin.”

“I thought she was dead,” Oliver said, fighting to keep his voice calm.

“So did we. We’re currently looking into it,” Pike promised him. “We’re doing everything we can to locate your mother.”

“Thank you Lieutenant. Keep us posted,” Oliver said quickly before he grabbed Thea by the arm and walked off.

Thea knew something was going on from the moment that Oliver had gone quiet. She waited until Diggle had fended off the reporters and the three of them were in the car before she said anything.

“You know something, don’t you?” Thea finally asked and Oliver was quiet for a moment.

“China White and I have a complicated history,” Oliver finally said. “She took mom to get to me.”

“She knows who you are,” Thea realized and he nodded. 

“Wait, she knows?” Diggle asked shocked from the driver’s seat as he looked back at them.

“Old news,” Thea waved her hand dismissively. 

Under normal circumstances, Oliver would have laughed at the look on Diggle’s face. But right now, he had more important concerns. 

“Mom could be anywhere. We need to find out where China White could have taken her,” Oliver said, his mind already racing. “Dig, take us home. I need to talk to our guest.”

Queen Mansion  
Later

Sin was watching a news report on Moira’s abduction when Oliver and Thea walked in.

“Hey, I heard about your mom. Do the police have any leads?” Sin asked.

“Yeah. The person who took her was identified as China White,” Oliver said and Sin paled.

“I thought she was dead,” Sin said softly.

“Yeah, that’s going around,” Thea said dryly.

“You know her?” Oliver asked.

“She’s the one who put the hit out on me,” Sin said, taking them by surprise. “I was making a delivery and I saw her slit a man’s throat. She saw me and I ran. She would have killed if my friend hadn’t saved me.”

“We’re talking about the blond vigilante?” Thea asked and Sin nodded.

“Sin, you were a courier for the Triad. Is there any place you can think of where China White might have taken my mom? Please, her life is in danger,” Oliver pleaded.

“There might be a place,” Sin said after a moment. “There’s this old shoe factory on the edge of The Glades, went out of business years ago. The Triad uses it for important meetings; everyone in The Glades knows not to go within ten feet of it. If she took your mom, she might have taken her there.”

The Glades  
Later

Moira was bound, her hands tied behind a chair as China White approached, twirling her knives. 

“You know, your son has been a thorn in my side for over four years,” White said as he smirked at Moira. “I bet he didn’t tell he wasn’t always on the island. That he was in Hong Kong four years ago.”

Moira remained silent. It had not taken her and Thea long to figure out that the email check had been Oliver attempting to contact them after their trip to the future. This was not the shock White hoped it would be.

“I’m going to enjoy causing him pain,” White smirked as she saw the fear entered Moira’s eyes before she quickly masked it. “What should I cut off first? A finger? A hand? Maybe an ear. What message should I send your son?”

Suddenly, an arrow flew out and hit China White’s hand, knowing the knife out of it. She whirled around as Oliver jumped down, taking aim at White.

“Let. Her. Go,” he snarled.

“Or what Oliver? You’ll kill me? So mommy dearest can see the killer her little boy turned into?” White mocked him. 

“Oliver, do what you have to,” Moira said from behind her.

White sneered but, before she could do anything, Oliver fired another arrow. White used her remaining knife to cut it down and then they rushed each other. Oliver whirled his bow like an escirma stick and White used her knife to block.

While White was distracted with Oliver, Diggle snuck in and got behind Moira. He untied her and then helped her up and led her out.

Seeing that his mother was safe, Oliver was able to stop holding back. He sent a kick towards her stomach and she stumbled back before Oliver was able to grab her by her arm. Bending it back, he forced her to her knees and put her in a chokehold. White stilled, both because she saw that Moira was gone and because she realized Oliver could kill her at any moment.

“I could snap your neck, it would be easy. Like breaking a toothpick,” Oliver said lowly in her ear. “But I’m not going to. Because you’re gonna do something for me.”

“And why would I do anything for you?” White sneered.

“Because once you do, I’ll let you go,” Oliver said and she was silent. “You put a hit out on a former courier of yours, Sin. Call it off and I will let you go.”

“Just like that?” White asked in disbelief.

“Just like that,” Oliver promised.

“And how do I know once I do it, you won’t kill me anyway?” White demanded.

“Honor,” Oliver said simply, pulling out a phone. “What’s the number I need to call?”

“685-4371,” White said and Oliver put in the number before he placed the phone at her ear. “Hit Sinful, cancel it. Password: Vengeful Dragon.”

Oliver then pulled the phone back and released her. She got to her feet, grabbing her knife and pointed it at Oliver.

“You know I will never stop hunting you. Your mother and sister will never be safe as long as I’m alive,” White said and Oliver was silent. “Guess you don’t care about them as much as I thought.”

White then turned and walked out, leaving Oliver alone. Oliver waited until she gone before dialing another number and placing the phone to his ear.

“It’s me. I have a proposition for you…”

Starling City Police Department  
Later

Oliver walked into the precinct and ran into Diggle.

“My mom okay?” Oliver asked immediately. 

“Yeah, she’s fine, Thea’s with her now. What happened with China White?” Diggle asked.

“Long story. I’ll explain later,” Oliver said, moving towards the interrogation room.

“Why didn’t you tell us that Thea and your mother both know your secret?” Diggle and Oliver stopped in his tracks.

“Because it was none of your business,” Oliver said as he turned towards Diggle. “What happens between me and my family is none of your business John. Your business is helping me and keeping them safe. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Diggle said lowly and Oliver nodded.

“Good. In the spirit of transparency, you should know that Laurel knows to,” Oliver said before he headed into the interrogation room before Diggle could react.

Thea and Moira were hugging, Thea crying tears of relief when Oliver walked in. Mora looked up as Oliver walked in, smiling at him gratefully.

“You okay?” Oliver asked concerned as he walked over to her.

“I’m fine, thanks to you,” Moira said as she reached out, taking his hand.

“Tell me China White is dead,” Thea said gruffly as she pulled back to look at her brother.

“She’s in the wind,” Oliver admitted. “But something tells me she won’t be for long.”

“I know that look, you’re up to something. What did you do?” Thea asked and Oliver smiled mischievously.

Starling City  
Same time

China White was heading towards a warehouse when she heard a sound behind her. She whirled around, pulling out her knives but she suddenly found herself surrounded by over a dozen Argus agents, all of whom were armed with assault rifles that were aimed right at her.

“Drop your weapons and put your hands up! Do it or we will open fire!” one of them shouted and she cursed her luck.

Starling City Police Department  
Same time

“Let’s just say she’s going to get exactly what she deserves,” Oliver said vaguely before looking back at Moira. “She won’t be bothering us again. I promise.”

“Well, that’s one problem taken care of,” Moira said with a sigh, causing both of her children to look at her in confusion.

“What’s going on Mom?” Oliver asked.

“When Lieutenant Pike came by to take my statement, he told me the coroner had determined the cause of Adam Donner’s death. It was poison, consistent with poison that is used by the Chinese Triad,” Moira explained.

“So this whole thing was a set up to get you away from the courthouse to capture,” Thea realized.

“And now that they know the Triad is to blame, the trial is back on,” Oliver realized and Moira nodded.

“We resume tomorrow. And Laurel is going to be the prosecutor,” Moira said, to the shock of both of her children. 

Starling City  
Later

China White was in the back of an armored car, on her way to being transferred to an Argus base. She glared down at the cuffs around her hand hatefully.

Outside, an arrow flew out and hit the front of the armored car. There was an explosion of sparks and the armored car swerved to a stop and the two armored cars behind it had to swerve to a stop as well. Several Argus agents got out to see what was going on.

Inside the armored car, White listened with confusion at the sounds of gunfire, screams, and arrows sailing through the air. Then it was quiet, the only sound being footsteps approaching the armored car. There was an explosion of sparks from behind the door and then it opened to reveal who stood on the other side.

It was someone wielding a bow and arrow was dressed like The Arrow, yet it wasn’t him. They were shorter, the build was different, and the suit had some major differences.

“You’re not Oliver Queen. Who are you?” White asked bluntly.

Wordlessly, the archer notched an arrow and fired. The arrow hit White in the chest and she fell to the floor, dead before she hit the floor. The archer stared at White’s lifeless body for a moment before she turned and walked off; leaving the lifeless bodies of White and the Argus agents behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Emiko has made her move. Oliver is going to have his fist encounter with her and the Ninth Circle very soon.


	19. Blood ties

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Moira's trial comes to a surprising conclusion, Oliver comes face to face with Emiko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wouldn’t you know it, I finally manage to sit down and finish this chapter and the reviews on Fanfiction.Net go down. I swear this site. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

Queen Mansion

Early morning

Oliver was awakened by the ringing of his cell phone by his bed side. Rolling over, he picked it off his nightstand. Seeing who was calling, Oliver scowled before answering.

“This better be good Amanda,” Oliver said gruffly.

“I’m afraid you have a problem,” Waller said and Oliver scowled as he heard the smug yet angry undertone in her voice.

“Really?” Oliver said dryly. “And what might that be?”

“The Argus escort transporting Chien Na Wei was attacked. She and the Argus agents escorting her were all killed. The murder weapon was an arrow shot in close range, identical to the ones you use,” Waller said before she paused, letting that sink in.

“I didn’t kill them Amanda. In case you forgot, I’m the one who gave you her location,” Oliver pointed out.

“I’m aware, which is the only reason I haven’t sent an Argus team to apprehend you,” Waller said.

“Let me guess, you’re covering up Argus’ involvement but you’re still gonna let me take the fall for the murders?” Oliver said sarcastically.

“I do what I have to,” Waller said and Oliver scoffed.

“We both know that’s a load of crap Amanda. Why even bother calling me?” Oliver asked angrily.

“Because I owe you for Shadowspire and Hong Kong. After this, I consider us even,” Waller said and Oliver heard the dial tone as she hung up.

The Glades

Later in the morning

Roy was carrying in some boxes of liquor from the back when he heard some of what was being sad on the news report Jade was watching.

“The murder of China White and the government agents escorting her is still under investigation, but the murder weapons have been identified as arrows,” Roy nearly dropped the crate in his hand at this. “Frank Pike of the Starling City Police Department could not be reached for comment, nor have the police said if this means the vigilante is a suspect in these murders.”

“Roy? You okay?” Jade asked as she saw how Roy had paled.

“Yeah, fine,” Roy lied, his mind racing.

Oliver wouldn’t have done it. If he was going to kill China White, he wouldn’t have murdered anyone else to do it. Which meant there was another copycat archer.

Starling City Police Department

Same time

Quentin stood in the briefing room with every other officer as Pike walked in. They all knew what this was about, the murder of China White and the government agents who had been escorting her last night.

“I just got off the phone with the medical examiner. According to the edge work, the murder weapons were arrows consistent with those that the vigilante uses,” Pike said grimly. “I’m not sure if there’s another copycat archer or if the vigilante just decided he wasn’t satisfied with one percenters. Either way, we’ve let this go on for too long. If you even see someone in a green hood, shoot to kill.”

Quentin tried to hide his alarm as the rest of the officers looked around, letting it sink in. This was bad, really bad.

Queen Mansion

Same time

“This is bad, isn’t it?” Thea asked as she and Oliver watched a news report on the murders.

“It’s really bad Speedy. The police will be coming after me like they never have,” Oliver said grimly.

“But if you catch the real killer-” Thea started.

“I’m not sure it’s that simple,” Oliver said with a sigh. “Whoever this copycat is, they copied my weapons to. And to take out an entire tea of Argus agents…they’re good. And I don’t think this was an accident. This was planned. Whoever this is…I think it was meant to call me out.”

“Call you out for what?” Thea asked confused.

“I wish I knew Speedy. I really do,” Oliver said with a sigh.

Before this conversation could continue, Diggle walked in, having dropped Sin off at the Glades.

“Sin get in okay?” Oliver asked and Diggle nodded.

“Yeah, I made sure she got to the clock tower before I left. You sure it was a good idea, letting her leave?” Diggle asked.

“You can’t make someone stay John. Besides, I put a tracker on her,” Oliver said and was met with two pairs of stunned eyes. “Just to be safe. China White might be dead, but who knows what other psychos might want to take advantage of a homeless teenage girl.”

Before Diggle or Thea could respond, Oliver’s cell phone vibrated as he received a text. Pulling it out, he frowned as he saw it was from Laurel.

‘We need to talk’ it read.

Courthouse

Afternoon

In the men’s room, Oliver entered, looking around as he closed the door, locking it as Laurel stepped out of the stall.

“Did anyone see where you were going?” Laurel asked.

“No, what’s going on Laurel?” Oliver asked, seeing how tense she was. “If this is about the news this morning-”

It’s not, I know it wasn’t you,” Laurel quickly assured him as she tried to find the worlds. “Ollie…you can’t let your mom take the stand.”

“I’m not sure she has another choice, since Thea’s testimony hurt her defense,” Oliver pointed out and Laurel sighed.

“I’m head counsel now. If she takes the stand, I’ll have to cross examine her and I’ll have to do so to the best of my ability, or I’ll be fired,” Laurel said and paused. “I could be disbarred for what I’m about to tell you.”

“Laurel, what is going on?” Oliver said, seeing how unnerved she was.

“Adam, when he was going through the evidence, he found something. A paternity test proving that Thea is not Robert Queen’s daughter, biologically speaking,” Laurel said and it took Oliver only a moment to figure it out.

“He knew she was Merlyn’s,” Oliver said lowly and she nodded.

“Ollie, that evidence will sink her defense. You have to convince your mom not to take the stand,” Laurel pleaded with him.

Later, in the chambers, Moira and Thea stared at Oliver after he told them.

“So what do we do now?” Thea asked after a moment.

“We do as we planned. I take the stand,” Moira said ad both her children looked at her sharply.

“Mom-” Thea started.

“It is the only option left Thea,” Moira said.

“Because of me. You have to do damage control,” Thea said guiltily and Moira softened.

“No. None of this is your fault. We are here because of what I did,” Moira said sternly as she took Thea’s face in her hands. “We all must face the consequences of our actions. And I am facing them now.”

Later, in the courtroom, Moira was on the stand as Laurel questioned her.

“It wasn’t an affair. It was very brief and a very long time ago,” Moira said.

“And despite it, you remained friends with Mr. Merlyn. In fact, he frequently attended parties at your home,” Laurel said pointedly, no sign of the internal struggle that was apparent when she talked to Oliver on her face.

“He was my husband's best friend until Malcolm had him killed." Moira pointed out.

"And this is why you claimed to feel as though you were in fear for your life and the lives of your children?" Laurel questioned.

“Well, I think it's a fairly compelling reason," Moira said defensively.

"Last year, your second husband, Walter Steel, was abducted by Mr. Merlyn, is that correct?" Laurel asked as though she didn’t already know the answer.

“Yes, so you see-” Moira started.

"Why didn't Merlyn kill Walter, the same as your first husband?" Laurel asked pointedly.

“Because I convinced him not to,” Moira said reluctantly after a moment.

Some hushed murmurs fell over the crowd as Oliver and Thea exchanged grim glances. This was not good.

"And Malcolm listened to you. Your friend spared Walter's life, and yet, you'd have this jury believing that you and your children were in danger?" Laurel said skeptically.

“We were. I was afraid-” Moira started.

“Of getting caught,” Laurel interrupted.

"Despite whatever youthful mistakes I might have made, Malcolm Merlyn was a dangerous man,” Moira insisted.

“To other people,” Laurel agreed before she went in for the kill. “But the only person who truly posed a danger to Moira Queen and her family was Moira Queen."

Laurel then walked back to her seat, unable to look at Oliver or Thea as she retook her seat.

Later, out in the hall, Laurel sat alone, across the hall from Oliver and Thea. She was lost in thought before she was approached by someone.

“You did a good job in there Ms. Lance,” Blood said and she smiled bitterly.

“And in doing so, I may have just killed a woman who was like a second mother to me as a kid,” Laurel said darkly.

“Moira Queen’s own actions did that. The fact that she is paying for them is not on you,” Blood said.

“What exactly do you want?” Laurel asked angrily.

“Like I said, I was impressed with you. I look forward to seeing how this all turns out,” Blood said before walking off, leaving Laurel staring after him bewildered.

Queen Consolidated

Same time

Felicity was packing up; about to go home for the day when seeming flew passed her. It was an arrow, almost exactly like the ones Oliver used. It hit the wall a few inches from her and Felicity jumped. Whirling around, Felicity saw some wielding a bow and arrow dressed like Oliver. But it wasn’t him, she thought faintly as they took aim at her.

Courthouse

Not long after

Oliver and Thea were waiting for news when Jean approached them.

“Can we call it a night?” Thea asked.

“The jury signaled that they could reach a verdict. The judge will not send them home. He wants to get this over with," Jean explained.

“Line forms behind me,” Thea muttered.

“A verdict that quickly is bad, isn’t it?” Oliver asked wearily.

“I think you two should prepare yourselves for the worst,” Jean said gently, a look of remorse on her face.

Jean walked off as Thea looked down. Before Oliver could say anything, his phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw it was Felicity and answered it.

“Felicity now’s not a good time,” Oliver said.

“If you want Felicity Smoak to live, come to Queen Consolidated. Come alone, Hood,” a female voice that was most certainly not Felicity said before it hung up.

Oliver lowered the phone to his side, his mind racing. Almost before he knew what he was doing, he started walking away.

“Hey, where are you going?!" Thea demanded ash se saw him leaving.

He looked back and, from the look on his face, she knew this had to do with his other life.

“I have to go, I’ll explain later,” Oliver said in a rush before he raced off.

Queen Consolidated

Later

In his suit, wielding his bow, Oliver entered his office. Felicity was there, being held by a woman dressed in a suit. She was Asian with dark hair tied back in a ponytail. She was a little younger than him, with eyes filled with anger.

“Hello Oliver. I’ve been waiting a very long time for this,” she said as Oliver narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you?” Oliver demanded and she laughed humorlessly.

“I think it’s sad that you don’t know. Of course your parents wouldn’t tell you about me and my mother,” she mocked and Oliver frowned. “I’m your sister. Well, half-sister, to be technical.”

“What?” Oliver asked, shocked as she smirked.

“Our daddy couldn’t keep it in his pants. My name is Emiko; I was born four years after you. Our father abandoned me and my mother, he chose you,” Emiko sneered and Oliver took a moment to compose himself.

“Emiko, this is between us. Let Felicity go,” Oliver tried to reason with her.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m going to make you feel every bit the pain your parents made me feel. Starting with her!” Emiko roared.

She pulled out a flechette but, at the same moment, Oliver pulled one from his sleeve and tossed it towards her. It hit her hand and the weapon was knocked out of it. Oliver rushed forward and Emiko was forced to let Felicity go in order to dodge his strike. She rolled out of the way and onto ground as Oliver grabbed Felicity and shoved her behind him.

“Go, now!” Oliver ordered.

Felicity didn’t need to be told twice. As Felicity ran, Emiko notched an arrow and fired. Oliver threw another flechette, knocking the arrow to the ground, allowing Felicity to escape. Emiko fired an arrow at Oliver but he dodged. As she notched another arrow, he grabbed the arrowhead, stopping it.

“We don’t have to do this Emiko,” Oliver tried to reason with her.

“I know, but I want to,” Emiko sneered.

She sent a kick to his abdomen and he stumbled back before she swung a kick at him. Oliver dodged and they began trading blows, using their escirma sticks at baton. Suddenly, Oliver grabbed her hand and then managed to put her in a chokehold. Oliver intended to break her neck but hesitated for a fraction of a second. That was all Emiko needed, breaking out of his hold as she jumped to the other side of the room.

“Bye brother,” Emiko said, tossing something towards Oliver.

Thinking it was a grenade, Oliver ran to avoid the blast. It went off, but it was only a smoke grenade. The room filled with smoke and, as Oliver searched for Emiko, he realized she was gone.

Courthouse

Later

Oliver walked back over to Thea and she looked at him in concern, knowing him well enough by now to know when something was wrong.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Thea asked in concern.

“No,” Oliver said honestly. “It’s complicated. Has there been any news?”

“No, I’ve just been waiting,” Thea said, eying her brother in concern as she wondered what happened.

“Hey,” the siblings looked up as Jean returned. “Jury’s back.”

Starling City Police Department

Same time

Felicity was on a bench, a blanket wrapped around her as she stared down at her shaking hands, realizing how close she had come to death. If Oliver hadn’t…

“Hey,” she looked up as Quentin approached. “You alright?”

“I don’t know,” Felicity said honestly as Pike approached.

“Ms. Smoak, this is Lieutenant Pike. He would like to ask you about what happened,” Quentin introduced and she nodded shakily.

“Ms. Smoak, could you tell me exactly what happened?” Pike asked gently and she nodded.

“I was getting ready to head home when someone dressed like The Hood showed up. They shot an arrow at the wall behind me. They wanted something from me, I don’t know,” Felicity said, trying to recall what Oliver had told her. “It just happened so fast.”

_Queen Consolidated, earlier_

_“And then tell them that I just showed up to save you. The Hood, not Oliver Queen,” Oliver told Felicity gently as they stood in the parking garage. “Don’t get to specific. If they ask for details, just keep saying it all happened so fast.”_

_“How are you able to do this? How can you just…” Felicity trailed f for a moment and Oliver was silent._

_“It’s what we do,” he finally said simply. _

Starling City police Department

Now

“You’re saying there were two?” Pike said in disbelief as Felicity nodded shakily.

“Two people in green hoods. One of them was The Hood, the other a psycho who tried to kill me,” Felicity said.

Courthouse

Same time

Everyone sat in the courtroom as the judge began the proceedings.

“I have received a note that the jury has arrived at a verdict. Please publish the verdict,” the judge said, turning to the bailiff.

“In the superior court of Star county state versus Moira Queen, verdict. On one count of conspiracy in the first degree, the defendant is found not guilty.”

Shocked murders broke out across the room as Moira, Oliver and Laurel looked stunned while Thea nearly sank into her seat in relief.

“On the five hundred and three counts of murder in the first degree, the defendant is found not guilty," the bailiff announced.

The courtroom exploded into shocked chatter as Moira nearly sagged in relief. Laurel let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as Oliver and Thea sat stunned while Moira hugged Jean. Moira let go of Jean and then the Queen family shared an emotional hug.

“I love you both so much,” Moira said emotionally, ignoring the shouting reporters.

Arrow lair

Later

Felicity and Diggle were watching a news report on the verdict as Oliver walked in.

“Congratulations,” Felicity said before pausing. “Is that appropriate?”

“She should have lost,” Oliver mused as he took off his jacket. “She should have been convicted.”

“Did you want her to be?” Diggle asked wearily as they approached Oliver.

“I expected her to be. The verdict doesn’t make sense, Thea’s testimony hurt her defense and her own destroyed it, Laurel blew it to pieces,” Oliver muttered.

“Well, however it happened, your mother’s alive. Maybe just be grateful for that,” Diggle suggested and, after a moment, Oliver nodded.

“She must be thrilled though. Beyond,” Felicity noted.

“It’s more like shock I think. They’re processing her now. I just came here to check in on you,” Oliver said as he looked over at Felicity.

“So…did you tell your mom and Thea about Emiko?” Felicity asked hesitantly.

“They’ve been through enough tonight. And I’m not even sure what to tell them,” Oliver said with a sigh.

“Oliver, from the sounds of it, Emiko hates you, Thea and your mom. You need to tell them,” Diggle pointed out and Oliver nodded.

“And I will…just not tonight,” Oliver said as he put on his jacket.

“Are you okay?” Felicity asked and Oliver paused.

“No. I thought after…that there wouldn’t be any more family secrets. Just when I nothing can surprise me, I’m proven wrong,” Oliver said bluntly before walking out.

Blood’s office

Same time

Blood was watching a news report on the attack at Queen Consolidated when Officer Daily walked up to him.

“Sir, there’s been a development,” Daily said.

Blood looked over at him blankly before walking over to his desk. Opening the cabinet behind it, he revealed his mask inside.

Starling City

Not long after

Blood, now wearing his mask, walked into his lab. Men were bound to chairs, tears of blood on their faces. All of them were dead…except one.

“How do you feel, Brother Cyrus?” Blood asked the one on the end.

“Stronger,” Cyrus said.

“Good. Then you’re ready,” Blood said pleased.

Elsewhere in Star City

Same time

Moira was in a car Jean had directed her to, the driver pulling away from the courthouse. As he drove, Moira rolled down her window, breathing in deeply as fresh air hit her face for the first time in months, outside that horrible business with China White.

“The Freeway will be quicker,” Moira told the driver.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Queen, but I was instructed not to take you home. Not yet,” he told her, to her alarm.

Moira’s mind raced, trying to figure out what was happening as the driver pulled up to an empty parking lot. He got out and opened the door for her, letting her what.

“Where are we? I-I don’t know this place,” Moira said, growing more and more confused and alarmed.

The driver ignored her question, looking behind ern ad smiling at someone.

“I brought her sir,” he said.

The driver was then hit in the chest with an arrow, to Moira’s horror. He went down, dead and she whirled around to see Malcolm Merlyn, wielding a bow, walk up behind her.

“Hello Moira,” he greeted calmly.

“You-You’re supoos-they said you were dead,” Moira stammered.

“There are parts of the world where death is an illusion. I’ve been to one. I’ve learned to be very convincing,” Malcolm told her calmly. “But I returned because you needed my help.”

“Help?” Moira repeated, her mind whirling with fear and horror.

“With your trial,” Malcolm clarified. “You didn’t think that jury acquitted you without a littler persuasion, did you?”

“What do you want?” Moira asked, attempting to calm her racing mind.

“I still have resources in Starling. Including in the DA’s office,” Malcolm said and she paled as Malcolm walked closer to her. “I followed Mr. Donner’s investigation into you with interest. The ease with which you lied about us for years, it made me wonder if you’d lied to me.”

“No, no,” Moira said as the realization set in.

“It was a matter of a simple genetics test to confirm suspicion,” Malcolm said, ignoring her.

“Don’t,” Moira pleaded but he ignored her once more.

“Imagine my joy at learning that Thea is my daughter,” Malcolm said gleefully as Moira closed her eyes, the fear she’d lived with for years finally realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that wraps up the trial.


	20. Barry Allen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A ghost from the past haunts Oliver as Moira tells him about Emiko. Barry Allen arrives in Starling CIty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is mostly set up, it basically just serves as the story’s introduction to Barry, as the title suggests. It’s mostly filler if I’m honest, but I do hope you guys enjoy it.

Starling City  
Night

Thunder roared in the skies above as, in a Queen Consolidated building, two security guards were making their rounds when they heard a strange sound. A loading bay door gave a loud clang as it shook, like it had just been hit with a car. The two stopped and looked at the door in confusion.

“What was that?” one of them asked.

The door was then hit from the other side again, and then again. The guards drew their guns as the door finally broke down. The two barely got out of the way in time as it hit the floor, revealing what had been hitting the other side.

It was a bald man dressed only in black with a mask covering his face. He walked forward and they opened fire on him. But to their shock, he didn’t even flinch as the bullets penetrated his skin. He punched one of the guards, sending him flying into some equipment, dead before he hit the ground. The other guard tried to run but he didn’t make it far before the man grabbed him by the neck, lifting him into the air with impossible strength. The man struggled, but was helpless as his air was cut off and his throat crushed. The man tossed the guard’s body aside and moved on, walking further into the warehouse.

Queen Mansion, next day  
Morning

Oliver put on his suit jacket as he got ready for work. It had been a few days since his mother had been acquitted and things were returning to what Thea called the new normal. As Moira settled back in, Thea took a few days off from Verdant to spend with her as Oliver went to work. Oliver had been trying to find a way to bring up Emiko to Moira but he kept chickening out. But he knew he couldn’t keep putting this off.

Once he was dressed, he made his way downstairs. Moira was in the sitting, looking down at a picture of Thea when she had been six years old.

“I always loved that picture,” Oliver said as he walked in and Moira looked up at him. “Mom…we need to talk.”

“Yes, yes we do,” Moira agreed as she thought of Malcolm.

“Something happened at Queen Consolidated the night of your trial,” Oliver said as he sat down next to her.

“I assume you fought this copycat of yours,” Moira said and Oliver nodded.

“She got away from me. But…she said her name was Emiko. Mom, she said she was my sister,” Oliver said with some difficulty and waited for her reaction.

In truth, Moira should have expected the other shoe to drop, Moira mused. If half of what she’d heard about the Ninth Circle was true, she should have known that Oliver continuing to target the list would eventually draw Emiko’s ire. But it still took Moira for a moment.

But that moment was enough. While Oliver could see the shock on her face, he didn’t see the expected incredulity or instant denial he had expected.

“It’s true. She is my…” Oliver trialed off and Moira nodded after gathering her bearings.

“Yes,” Moira admitted gently as she silently cursed Robert for forcing Oliver to endure yet another blow. “You were three. Your father was at a business meeting when he met the chef of a local diner in The Glades, Kazumi Adachi. He was…smitten with her. They began an affair; she fell pregnant with your sister, Emiko, a few months into their relationship. At first, your father tried to be there for her and Emiko. But she gave him an ultimatum: leave me and you and marry her or stay away. If he refused, she would expose his indiscretion to all the local media outlets.”

“He chose us,” Oliver said softly and she nodded.

“For all his faults, he did love us. And I think your father also realized that Kazumi was less than stable. But he couldn’t help out Emiko without exposing the affair and the bad press would have affected millions once it was revealed the CEO of Queen Consolidated had not only had an affair with an unstable woman, but had fathered a child with her. Leaving Emiko was the lesser evil, at the time. I’m sorry you have to bear the consequences of your father’s mistakes,” Moira said regretfully and it was silent for a moment.

It was a lot for Oliver to process. On some level, Oliver acknowledged that it wasn’t a total shock. He’d known his father had been unfaithful, so him having an illegitimate child wasn’t impossible. But still, part of Oliver hadn’t wanted to believe it. 

“You knew all this…but you still stayed with him,” Oliver noted surprised after a few moments. “Why?”

“Oliver, for all our mistakes, your father and I did love each other, very much. Sometimes I did think of leaving him, but I wanted you and Thea to have the stable life I didn’t growing up. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give that to you,” Moira said sadly as she placed a hand on the side of Oliver’s face.

Oliver wanted to say something, anything, to comfort his mother. But before he could even begin to figure out what, Diggle walked in.

“Oliver,” Diggle said and the two looked over at him. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s been a break in.”

Queen Consolidated, Applied Sciences Division  
Later in the morning

Oliver and Diggle examined the destroyed door as the SCPD swarmed the warehouse, Felicity standing awkwardly off to the side.

“This door was made of expanded reinforced titanium." Diggle noted before glancing over at Quentin. “What did they use to do this?"

“Not sure yet. No sign of any explosives. Maybe a crane, maybe a forklift,” Quentin said as he circled the door. “We’re guessing there was at least three of them, maybe four. And given how quick they got in and out of here, they were fast."

Oliver stared at the door, a sinking suspicion forming in his mind. But – no, it couldn’t be, Oliver told himself. Slade was dead; he’d made sure of that. The Mirakuru was gone. 

Oliver put these thoughts aside as Quentin led them deeper into the warehouse.

“Any idea what these guys were so hot to break in here for? You didn't happen to leave a spare earthquake machine lying around, did you?" Quentin joked and Oliver shot him a flat look. “Sorry.”

Officer Kelton then came up to them with his tablet.

“This is what we're able to pull off the security cameras,” Kelton said as he showed them the video. 

Everyone was silent as they watched a masked man easily kill the guards. Oliver was pale as he watched the man take out the camera with a box. It wasn’t possible, he told himself. 

"He was the only guy we got on video. The rest of the crew must have come in after him," Kelton said, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.

“Actually, it was only one guy.”

Startled by the voice, everyone turned as a dark haired man with a young face walked in.

“Sorry I'm late. But actually, my train was late. Well, the second one. The first one I did miss, but that was my cab driver's fault. I've got this great traffic app, and… but he thought that he was right. I'm here now, though. So…." he babbled nervously.

“Great, who the Hell are ya?” Quentin asked sarcastically.

“Barry Allen,” it was only Quentin’s years as a police officer that prevented him from starting at the name. “I'm from the Central City Police Department. I'm with the crime scene investigation unit. We're working on a case with some similar unexplained elements in Central City, so when the report of your robbery came over the wire, my captain sent me up here."

As Quentin tried to process that he was seeing Barry Allen, the friend f Oliver’s Mia had mentioned, Oliver eyed Barry. Something about his story didn’t add up. As Barry smiled nervously, Oliver just got the vibe that Barry was being less than truthful. 

“And you think one guy did this?” Diggle asked skeptically. 

“One very strong guy, yeah. It takes about 1,250 foot pounds of torque to break someone's neck,” Barry said as he took the tablet and pulled up a photo of one of guard’s bodies. “You see the marks on the guard's neck? The bruising pattern suggests the killer used only one hand. I'm guessing you don't know how hard it is to break someone's neck."

This last line was said to Oliver, who appeared lost in thought. Oliver shook his head, snapping out of it.

“Hmm? No, no idea,” Oliver lied even as his mind raced. 

“Uh, we're going to need a list of the entire inventory here to figure out exactly what was stolen." Kelton said.

"Actually, I think I know what was stolen,” Barry said, bringing their attention back to him. "A centrifuge. An industrial centrifuge. Probably the Cord Enterprises 2BX 900. Maybe the six series."

As he talked, Barry led them over to a concrete base, which looked like something had been yanked out of it. 

"Both have a three column base. Here, you can see the three sets of broken bolts where the thief just ripped it out of the ground," Barry explained.

“And what exactly is a centrifuge?” Quentin asked, regaining his bearings. 

"It separates liquids," Felicity explained. "The centripetal acceleration causes denser substances to separate out along the radial direction."

"And lighter objects move to the top," Barry added. “You can see the cracks heading towards the door. Footsteps. One guy,” Barry said definitely before pausing. “Anyway, it's just a theory. One backed by a lot of evidence."

Seven months ago, Quentin would have scoffed, insisting there was another explanation. Now, now he was willing to hear Barry’s theory out. And judging from the grim look on Oliver’s face, Oliver wasn’t so dismissive of Barry’s theory either.

District Attorney’s office  
Afternoon

“Barry Allen?” Laurel asked shocked as Quentin told her.

“Yeah, as in the Barry Allen Mia told us about,” Quentin said with a nod. 

“Whoa,” Laurel said in a bit of disbelief. “He just, showed up?”

“Yeah, said he wants to investigate the case,” Quentin said with a sigh. “Not sure I believe him.”

“Why?” Laurel asked curiously.

“Well, after we got back, I did a little digging into his past. I wanted to know everything I could about him. From what I found out, he’s lived a pretty normal life…with one exception,” Quentin said and Laurel raised an eyebrow. “When he was eleven, his mother was murdered, allegedly by his father, who was sentenced to life in Iron Heights without the possibility of parole.” 

“Allegedly?” Laurel noted.

“Well, according to Barry, he woke up and came downstairs to see a ball of lighting surrounding his mother. He saw a man inside the lightning. Then he was somehow transported miles from his house. He claims this 'lightning man’ killed his mother, not his father,” Quentin explained and it was silent for a minute. “Since then, Allen has been looking into cases with elements that most would consider impossible or illogical. I guess he believes one day, one of these cases will lead him to this ‘lightning man’.”

“So you think he’s lying about his captain sending him here?” Laurel asked and Quentin shrugged.

“Hard to say. But, if he is a friend of Oliver’s, then I think I should leave it alone. Let things happen as they’re meant to,” Quentin said and Laurel was silent.

“And what do you think about his story, about this ‘lightning man’?” Laurel inquired.

“Seven months ago I would’ve said he was just in denial, that he conjured it up to escape the truth. Now…now I don’t know,” Quentin admitted before walking off.

Queen Consolidated  
Same time 

Oliver was staring out the window of his office, lost in memories when Diggle called his name.

“Oliver,” Oliver turned around to face Diggle. "Got the final inventory from Applied Sciences. That CSI from Central City was right. The only thing missing is a centrifuge." 

Oliver took the inventory report from Diggle, a sinking feeling forming in his stomach. If someone was trying to recreate Mirakuru, then they now had a device capable of doing just that. All they would need now was blood and a sedative, a strong one.

“You have to see this,” Felicity said as she walked in, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts. “I pulled up CC traffic camera footage from across the street of Applied Sciences. This is three minutes after the alarm went off."

Felicity turned her tablet around and showed them the video. Oliver paled as he saw a masked man, the same one from the security videos at Applied Sciences, carrying the centrifuge on his shoulder like it was a duffle bag and put it in the van.

Someone wasn’t trying to recreate Mirakuru. Someone already had recreated it, now they were trying to make more of it. And they had already started gathering the supplies. 

Hearing someone walk in, Oliver looked up to see Barry standing just outside his office. 

“Can we help you with something detective?” Oliver asked.

"Oh, CSIs aren't actually detectives. We don't even carry guns. Just some plastic baggies,” Barry laughed before he saw Oliver’s annoyed look. “Uh, where should I set up my equipment?”

“I’ll show you,” Felicity offered.

“Wait, what is going on?” Oliver asked confused.

"Your assistant said that you preferred to keep the investigation in house, so I cleared it with my captain to give you a hand." Barry explained as Felicity looked at Oliver sheepishly.

Oliver’s years of growing up in the Queen house allowed him to smile politely at Barry before he pulled Felicity aside.

“What are you doing?” Oliver asked lowly. 

"We need to find this intruder. And he seems to know more about it than any of us. Forensic science isn't exactly my forte,” Felicity pointed out.

She had a good point, Oliver admitted. Still-

“Next time you do something like this, you run this by me first. A team is only as good as the trust between the members. If we don’t trust each other, we will fail,” Oliver said lowly and Felicity grimaced.

“Noted. I’m sorry,” Felicity apologized.

Oliver nodded as Felicity walked off to show Barry around. 

“Why am I getting the feeling you know more about this than Felicity's new friend?” Diggle asked once Felicity and Barry were gone.

“Pray that I’m wrong Diggle,” Oliver muttered.

“And if you’re not?” Diggle asked and Oliver was silent for a moment.

“Then not even the vigilante can save the city from what’s coming,” Oliver said darkly as he turned to stare out the window once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Robert Queen we saw in season seven was not the Robert Queen of previous seasons, to put it bluntly. That Robert Queen seemed to only care about himself. And the Robert Queen of season seven would certainly not have been capable of accepting and loving Thea if he had known she was not his. Honestly, the writers hatred of the Queen family is really disturbing.


	21. End of the Dark Archer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver learns about Malcolm's survive and makes a plan to deal with him once and for all. Sin reaches out to Roy for help with a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another rather short chapter, but it felt too choppy cutting from the end to the next scene. For now, I hope you guys enjoy this.

Queen Mansion  
Afternoon

“Malcolm is here?” Thea asked stunned as she sat on the couch with her mother.

“He was behind my trial. It was orchestrated so that Adam Donner would reveal that you were his daughter. When he was killed and Laurel refused, he had to change tactics,” Moira said, looking at her daughter in concern. “Thea, honey, are you alright?”

“What do we do now? He’s not just gonna walk away,” Thea asked lowly, feeling scared, really scared, for the first time in a long time.

“There is only one we can do: tell your brother and hope that his months with Talia have been enough,” Moira said although Thea could see the same worry for Oliver that she felt in Moira’s eyes.

Further conversation was interrupted as Oliver entered the room. He paused, sensing the tension in the room.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

“Thea, could you give your brother and I a moment?” Moira asked, knowing she couldn’t put this off any longer.

Thea nodded after a moment and got up, leaving the room although Oliver caught the worried glance she shot him as she left.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Oliver asked and she sighed.

“Sit down sweetheart,” Moira said with a sigh.

“It makes me nervous when you tell me to sit down,” Oliver muttered but took the seat next to her anyway. “What’s going on Mom?”

“Malcolm…he’s alive,” Moira said and Oliver stared at her for a few moments, trying to process what she was saying.

“What?” Oliver managed after a few moments, sure he had misheard her.

“Sweetheart, he was behind the trial. It was a sham designed to expose Thea’s true parentage. When Adam Donner was murdered and Laurel went off script, he knew he had to improvise,” Moira explained and Oliver caught on. 

“He got you acquitted, didn’t he?” Oliver realized and she nodded.

“He wants Thea Oliver,” Moira said and this seemed to shake Oliver out of his shock.

“He’s not gonna get anywhere near her Mom, I promise,” Oliver said his voice dropping slightly as his eyes narrowed.

“What do we do?” Moira asked and Oliver was silent for a moment. 

“Merlyn’s arrogant. When you don’t comply, he’ll come to you…and that’s when I’ll kill him,” Oliver said darkly and Moira shivered.

No longer was her son in the room with her. No, this was The Hood, the man who had struck fear into the hearts of criminals, elite and petty alike. And now he had a new target.

The Glades  
Late afternoon

“So where’d Jason go?” Roy asked Jade as they got the bar ready for the night.

“Something about a wedding out of town, he said he’d be back in a few days,” Jade said before someone began beating on the front door of the bar. “Read the sign, we’re closed!”

“Jade, it’s me,” Sin’s voice sounded on the other side of the door, giving the pair pause. “Is Roy there? I need to talk to him.”

“Yeah, I’m here. Just a sec Sin,” Roy said as he and Jade exchanged a bewildered look.

Jade walked over to the door and unlocked it, opening it up for Sin. Sin looked freaked out and worried, Roy noted as she walked in.

“What’s up Sin?” Roy asked in concern.

“I need your help. Can we talk…privately?” Sin said with a glance at Jade.

“What’s up Sin?” Jade asked, clearly not budging. 

Sin weighed her options before deciding it wasn’t worth fighting over.

"It's my friend Max," she began. "He's missing. I haven't seen him for a week, no one has. Something happened to him. I figured Roy knew someone who could help."

As Sin gave him a pointed look when she said ‘someone’, Roy caught on. She wanted him to call in Oliver, or rather The Hood, on this. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Roy promised, very aware of Jade’s curious eyes on him.

Queen Mansion  
Night

Moira was in the ballroom, lost in memories of many balls past. She almost missed the presence behind her. Almost.

“Moira,” Moira fought the flinch that threated to overtake her as Malcolm walked up behind her. “Have you told Thea?”

“No. And I’m not going to,” Moira said as she turned around, enjoying the enraged look on his face.

“I set you free Moira. Your life belongs to me,” Malcolm sneered as he walked over to her.

“Maybe once, but no longer. Clean up once you’re done,” Moira said, directing the last part over Malcolm’s shoulder.

A chill ran down Malcolm’s spine as he whirled around. The Hood stood a few feet from him, aiming an arrow at him.

“I see there are no longer any secrets between mother and son,” Malcolm noted as Moira left them alone. “You can’t stop me Oliver, you couldn’t before and you won’t now.”

“I’m not the same man I was seven months ago,” Oliver said coolly. “You’re not getting anywhere near Thea.”

“She is my daughter, I have a right to her,” Malcolm said angrily.

“Tommy had you for a father, it didn’t turn out so well for him,” Oliver angrily shot back. “You killed Tommy; you don’t get a second chance with Thea.”

Oliver fired but Malcolm pulled out a dagger he had kept hidden in his suit, cutting it down. With a roar, Malcolm rushed Oliver who whirled his bow like an escirma stick. Oliver blocked Malcolm’s dagger with his bow before Malcolm jumped back. Malcolm attempted a few more times to strike Oliver with his dagger but Oliver blocked them all with his bow, to Malcolm’s frustration. In the months since The Undertaking, Oliver’s skills had improved leaps and bounds. The warrior in Malcolm was honestly impressed. 

Malcolm jumped up, wrapping his legs around Oliver’s neck and yanked him down. The two ended up on the floor and lost their weapons in the scuffle. Oliver sent a kick to Malcolm’s abdomen, getting the other archer off him. 

“You’ve improved in the months since we last fought,” Malcolm acknowledged as they both got to their feet. “But you still can’t beat me Oliver.”

“Yes Malcolm, yes I can!” Oliver snarled angrily.

The two rushed each other once more, trading blows before Oliver sent a power kick to Malcolm’s abdomen, sending the other man stumbling back. Oliver then tackled Malcolm before he could recover, pinning him to the floor as he wailed on Malcolm, sending several punches to Malcolm’s face in quick succession. Malcolm sent a kick to Oliver’s chest, pushing him off but Oliver quickly rushed back in. The two wrested on the floor for a few seconds before Oliver managed to get behind Malcolm, putting him in a choke hold.

“This is for Tommy,” Oliver snarled.

Oliver bent Malcolm’s head back and, with a twist, there was a sickening crack that echoed through the empty room. Malcolm stilled as Oliver lowered Malcolm to the floor, breathing heavily. 

“Told you I could do it,” Oliver told the corpse breathlessly. 

Oliver then felt the Comms device in his suit go off and tapped it.

“Yeah?”

“Oliver, Felicity and Barry might have found something. I think you should get down here,” Diggle said on the other end. 

“Be right there. Just have to take out some trash first,” Oliver said with a glance at Malcolm’s body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, another story, another time where Malcolm Merlyn gets what he deserves, none of that heroic ending BS here. 
> 
> Hope I did okay on the fight scenes.
> 
> Next chapter will be longer, as I’m gonna try to finish up 2x08 next chapter.


	22. The past haunts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver grows more suspicious of Barry as he realizes someone has recreated the Mirakuru. Roy and Sin investigate Max's disappearance.

Queen Consolidated, Applied Sciences   
Night

“Hey, where you been?” Diggle said as Oliver entered the Applied Science building.

“I had to take care of something,” Oliver said as they walked over to Felicity and Barry. “You found something?”

"We found something,” Felicity corrected.

“There were trace amounts of sucrose and a spec of dirt the killer dragged in here on his boot," Barry explained.

“Which got me thinking, there is a sugar refinery two miles from here. The land around it is suffused in waste sugar. So I checked. They had a delivery truck stolen a few days ago," Felicity explained.

“Their truck matches the make and model of the truck the thief used to steal the centrifuge," Barry added.

“Can you track it?” Oliver asked.

“We’ve been trying,” Felicity started but a beep from her computer cut her off.

“What was that?” Oliver inquired as Felicity checked.

“You’re not going to believe this,” Felicity said in disbelief. “The truck, it was just used to rob a blood bank."

“A blood bank? You’re sure?” Oliver asked as he paled.

"Yeah, our guy just made off with thirty-thousand CC's of O-Negative," Felicity said.

"What, he has super strength, likes blood? Please don't tell me we suddenly believe in vampires,” Diggle deadpanned.

“We should get this information to the local police." Barry said.

“I’ll take care of it,” Oliver said quickly, silently appraising the younger man. “Did you say that you were working a similar case in Central City?"

“Oh, yeah, um… Yeah, you know, it's similar. Has similar elements. A lot of similarities. Right. Yeah,” Barry said lamely. 

“Right,” Oliver said blankly.

Silently, Oliver led Diggle away as Felicity and Barry went back to work.

"I want you to look into this Allen kid. There’s more to him than meets the eye,” Oliver ordered.

“I think his intentions seem pretty clear to me,” Diggle said with a smirk, glancing over at Felicity and Barry.

It took only a moment for Oliver to understand what Diggle was implying. Once it did, he felt a surge of annoyance.

“I don’t know where you got it in your head that I’m jealous John. Felicity can do whatever she wants with whoever she wants; I don’t care what she does outside the work we do. Barry can’t give us a straight answer and I want to know what he’s hiding. It is still your job to follow orders, isn’t it?” Oliver asked irritated.

“Yes sir,” Diggle said in a clipped voice, looking properly abashed.

“Good, then do it,” Oliver said annoyed before walking off.

Starling City  
Not long after

A sugar refinery truck was driving down the highway. It was missing the driver’s side door as the masked man who had attacked Queen Consolidated drove. Oliver drove up behind him on his motorcycle and, spotting him through the rearview mirror, the masked man tried to drive him off the road by swerving wildly. Oliver shot an arrow, shattering the mirror. Oliver drove up to the driver’s side before jumping onto the roof and swinging through the empty door. Oliver and the man scuffled, Oliver throwing a barrage of punches at the man but he was unaffected, to Oliver’s shock.

The man punched him and Oliver was sent flying out. At the last second, Oliver grabbed the edge of the doorway and swung himself onto the hood, hanging on for dear life. The windshield shattered as the man reached through, grabbing Oliver and yanking him back inside. Desperately, Oliver pulled out a flechette and tried to stab the man in the leg. However, to Oliver’s alarm, the arrowhead was flattered upon contact, like it had struck a steel wall. Angrily, the man struck Oliver and he flew into the passenger door, which then flew off the car. It landed on the pavement, sliding Oliver into some trash bags. The car drove away as, dazed, Oliver pulled himself up, staring down at the arrowhead.

Arrow lair  
Later

Oliver winced but managed not to cry out as Felicity patched him up.

“Sorry,” Felicity apologized and he only gave a jerky nod as he put on his shirt.

“You were right to ask if I knew more than I was letting on,” Oliver acknowledged as he looked over at Diggle. “I've seen men with abilities like that before."

“What? Where?” Felicity exclaimed shocked as she and Diggle gave Oliver their complete attention.

“On the island,” Oliver admitted. “My second year marooned there, we- I came across the remains of a Japanese World War Two military project. It was a serum designed to create human weapons."

“Human weapons. What’s next, aliens?” Diggle scoffed.

“This is real Diggle,” Oliver snapped angrily. “Those five years that I was away, I came across things that just defy explanation. There's a doctor, his name is Ivo, and he came to the island to test the serum on people. The ones that survived, their endurance, reflexes and strength were all enhanced."

"And you think this Ivo's in Starling City?" Diggle asked.

“He’s dead,” Oliver said blankly, remembering shooting Ivo. "And so is everyone that he injected with the serum. The last of which I burned."

“You think someone found the recipe,” Diggle realized. 

"The centrifuge and a large supply of blood. I think someone wants to make more of it. A lot more," Oliver explained.

“Why couldn't you have been marooned on Aruba?" Felicity moaned but Oliver ignored her.

"There's a third component, a strong sedative," Oliver said before handing the flattened arrow to Felicity.

“I think I preferred it when you left these in people,” Felicity said weakly as she took it.

“I need you to analyze the blood on the arrowhead," Oliver ordered. "If we can figure out which sedative they're using-” 

“We can figure out where the next robbery will be,” Diggle realized.

“Barry and I will get right on it,” Felicity said before walking out.

“I think our Ms. Smoak is smitten,” Diggle noted and Oliver noted he didn’t seem pleased about it, a stark contrast to his amusement from earlier.

“What did you find?” Oliver demanded.

“You were right. Mr. Allen isn’t who he says he is,” Diggle admitted. 

The Glades, next day  
Morning 

“So aren’t we calling the vigilante? This seems like right up his alley,” Sin said as she and Roy entered Max’s apartment.

“When we know something, I’ll get in touch with him. Right now, we don’t have much,” Roy said as he looked around.

It was like a lot of the apartments in The Glades, except it was full of paintings. They all had the same theme: a man in some kind of mask. It sent chills up Roy’s spine.

“Interesting paintings,” Roy muttered.

“Your girlfriend’s collection is better,” Sin admitted.

“Jade is not my girlfriend,” Roy said absently as he looked around.

“I was talking about Thea; she showed me the family art collection when I was staying with her and Oliver. But interesting you thought immediately of Jade,” Sin noted and Roy rolled his eyes.

“Nothing’s going on there Sin,” Roy insisted and she shrugged.

“Then you might want to tell her that, because the way she looks at you…well, I wish someone would look at me that way,” Sin said and it was silent for a moment as Roy digested this. “What exactly are we looking for?” 

“If I knew that, we’d already be out of here,” Roy said, grimacing as he saw some old pizza in a box and closed the lid. “He hasn’t been here in a week you said? Did he tell you where he was going?”

“No, just said he had to do something. But I never heard back from him,” Sin said.

Roy nodded before he saw something. Walking over, he picked up a brochure to a blood drive for Sebastian Blood. 

“This blood drive was a week ago. When did you say Max went missing?” Roy asked, staring at the brochure. 

“That day. Do you think it means something?” Sin asked.

“I don’t know,” Roy admitted.

A little later, Roy and Sin exited the apartment building, unaware they were being watched. Across the street, Officer Daily watched in his cruiser before pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

"It's Daily. Someone's looking for Maxwell Stanton," he said into the phone.

“And they should find him.”

“Yes Brother Blood,” Daily said before hanging up.

Queen Consolidated  
Same time

In Oliver’s office, Barry was watching a news report on the Particle Accelerator as Felicity walked up next to him.

"Pretty cool, right?" Barry asked excitedly.

"You know, there's been a hundred percent increase in earthquakes since they've turned on the Large Hadron Collider," Felicity pointed out.

“That data is misleading,” Barry laughed as Oliver walked in.

“You know about misleading, don’t you?” Oliver asked, bringing the laughter to a stop.

“What are you talking about?” Felicity asked confused.

"He's not from CSI, he's an assistant," Oliver revealed. "Whose bosses don't know you're in Starling. And there is no similar case in Central City. So tell me Barry, what are you really doing here?”

Barry gulped as he saw the glare Oliver was giving him and Felicity’s questioning look. Realizing he was caught, he knew he had to come clean.

“I told you my mother was murdered,” Barry muttered as he looked over at Felicity.

“By your father,” Oliver noted.

“He didn’t do it!” Barry said forcibly as he walked up to Oliver.

“You said that the police didn't find the man who killed her,” Felicity remembered.

“They think they did. My dad has been serving a life sentence. They didn't believe me,” Barry sighed tiredly.

“About what?” Felicity pressed.

“I was eleven. One night something just came into our house, like a tornado. A blur. Somewhere inside The Blur, I saw a person. My dad went to fight it. I tried to get them when suddenly-” Barry sighed. “I was twenty blocks away from our house. Nobody believed me. They thought I was trying to cover for my father. But what I saw that night was real. As real as the man that ripped down that metal door with his bare hands. That's why I look into cases like this. The ones nobody believes are possible. Maybe if I can just make sense of one, I might be able to find out who really killed my mother. And free my dad.”

It was silent in the room as Oliver stared at Barry, realizing he was telling the truth. It took skill to fake that kind of emotion, and Barry didn’t strike him as a skilled liar. 

“I am sorry I lied to you,” Barry said as he looked at Oliver apologetically. “I’m just gonna…go grab my stuff and get out of here.”

Barry walked out as Oliver realized with guilt how he had misjudged Barry.

“He did lie about who he was,” Oliver said as he noticed Felicity glaring at him angrily.

"And what do we do every day?" she asked emotionally.

“That is not the same thing and you know it,” Oliver snapped, taking Felicity back. “I messed up, but Barry lied to us from the beginning. And it just as easily could have been something far worse. I was wrong about Barry, but I will not apologize for not taking things at face value. If you can’t see why that is dangerous Felicity…maybe we need to rethink this arrangement.”

Oliver then walked out, leaving Felicity alone.

The Glades  
Late afternoon

Roy was restocking the shelves as he and Jade talked.

“So did you find Sin’s friend?” Jade asked absently as she checked over some sheets of paper.

“No, not yet,” Roy said as he looked over at her, his mind occupied by what Sin had said earlier.

Did Jade have feelings for him? Did he have feelings for Jade? It was making his head spin.

Roy almost jumped at the sound of his phone ringing. Pulling it out, he saw it was Sin and answered.

“Sin?” Roy answered.

“I found Max,” Sin said and Roy could tell from the sound of her voice that it wasn’t good news.

“Okay, where are you?” Roy asked.

“I’m on the edge of Kent and Queens,” Sin said and Roy nodded.

“Okay, I’ll be there,” Ry said as he hung up.

“What’s going on?” Jade asked as Roy hung up.

“Sin found her friend, from the sounds of it. I need to go,” Roy said and she nodded in understand.

“Go, I’ll cover for you,” she promised and Roy nodded gratefully before heading out.

Queen Consolidated   
Night

Barry was packing up his things when Oliver walked over.

“Hey,” Oliver said awkwardly.

“Don’t worry, I’m just packing up,” Barry said glumly.

“I actually came here to apologize,” Oliver said, making Barry look at him in surprise. “I was out of line.”

“I did lie,” Barry noted.

“Regardless, I should have handled it better. I’m not sure how much you know about me,” Oliver started.

“You were stranded on a deserted island for five years,” Barry said, smiling at the look of surprise that crossed Oliver’s face. “You’re not the only one who did their research.” 

“Well, what I don’t tell people is that that island was not deserted,” Oliver said, taking Barry back. “And the people there…I could never completely trust someone. And I don’t always know when to turn that part of me off. And sometimes, I’m an ass to people who are just trying to help. I’m sorry Barry.”

“Thanks, but I really do need to go,” Barry said after a moment. “My boss found out I don’t have food poisoning, so I need to head back to Central City if I still want to be employed, which I do.” Barry grabbed is bag and threw it over his shoulder. “Tell the SCPD that the sedative in the thief's blood is Ketamine. It's a schedule three controlled substance. It shouldn't be too hard to track."

“Will do. Thank you for all your help Barry,” Oliver said, holding out a hand to Barry, who took it in a handshake after a moment.

“It was nice meeting you, minus the part about you being a dick,” Barry said as they dropped ands.

Oliver chuckled as Barry walked off. He liked Barry, he decided. 

The Glades  
Same time

Roy arrived to see Sin being manhandled by some police officers.

“Max! Get off, let go!" She was screaming as Roy rushed over.

“Hey, leave her alone!” Roy shouted as he rushed over.

The officers practically shoved her towards him and Roy caught her, steadying her on her feet as the officers turned away.

“Stupid cops,” Sin sneered before turning to Roy. “They’re saying Max OD’ed!”

“Was he using?” Roy asked. 

“No! He made extra cash donating blood. You really think the hospital would let him be a donor if he was an addict?" Sin asked angrily.

It didn’t make sense, Roy knew as he glanced towards the police. No one was paying attention to them. Getting an idea, Roy pulled out his phone and walked over to the body. That did not look like a normal OD, Roy noted as he saw the tears of blood. Roy took the picture before one of the officers noticed him.

“Hey, you can’t be here,” the officer said as Roy pocketed his phone.

“Was just leaving,” Roy said as he walked back over to Sin.

“So what, we just leave?” Sin asked angrily as Roy started leading her away.

“Yeah, we leave. Because now, I have something,” Roy said lowly. 

Neither of them noticed Officer Daily watching them as they walked away.

Arrow lair  
Later

“Ketamine is a common surgical anesthesia derived from hydrochloric salt," Felicity told Oliver and Diggle as she sat at the computers. 

“Can you use it to track him?” Oliver inquired.

“With the current concentration ratio in the blood sample, there's only one possible location with a large enough quality of the sedative that correlates with the amount of blood the stolen centrifuge can process,” Felicity said before pulling up an image on the screen.

It was of a warehouse but there was no sign, strangely, Oliver noted.

“What is it? There's no sign,” Diggle noted.

“Argus doesn’t like to advertise. It's a disaster bunker. Right on the edge of the Glades. Argus has them all over the country. They store relief supplies- food, clothing-"

“Medicine,” Diggle noted and she nodded.

“I’m on my way,” Oliver said as he grabbed his bow.

“Oliver,” Felicity called out as she grabbed the flattened arrow, walking over to him. “I can't believe I'm actually saying this. The way this arrowhead is bent, it means our thief's muscle density is at least 120 pounds per cubic foot. That's almost the same density as common concrete. Your arrows may cut this guy, but they will not stop him."

“Well, I've beat someone like this before Felicity. I can do it again,” Oliver said, honestly hoping that was true.

“What if you can’t?” Felicity asked uncertainly.

“Oliver,” Diggle called out, bringing their attention back to him.

On the screen, Oliver could see an image of the back alley of Verdant. The flechette was in the wall. Apparently, Roy wanted to talk.

Outside Verdant  
Not long after

Roy was pacing the alley as Oliver arrived.

“What?” Oliver growled in annoyance.

“I need your help. A friend of mine's friend, well, the cops think he OD'ed, but we think he was murdered," Roy explained.

“Why?” Oliver inquired.

"Well, he wasn't an addict, for starters,” Roy said before pulling up the photo he had taken of Max. “And this doesn’t look any OD I’ve ever seen.”

Oliver paled as he saw the picture. It was worse than he thought.

“Tell your friend to stay away from this, do whatever you have to, but throw them off the trail,” Oliver ordered. “This, this is bigger than they can imagine. It’s gonna be up to us to put a stop to it.”

“Us,” Roy noted and Oliver nodded.

“I made you my eyes and ears to see if I could trust you. You’ve proven I can. Now, your training starts. Enjoy the holidays, and then I’ll come to you,” Oliver promised him. 

“I won’t let you down,” Roy promised and Oliver could see some of himself in Roy, back when he had first started training under Slade.

“I hope so,” Oliver said before he turned and walked off.

Starling City  
Later

Oliver walked through the warehouse, his bow gripped tightly in his hand. Hearing something from above, Oliver moved out of the way just in time as a crate fell just where he had been standing. Seeing the masked man on the shalves, Oliver fired three arrows, which the man dodged before jumping down, landing on his feet with inhuman grace. He tried to strike Oliver but Oliver jumped out of the way, firing another arrow. But this one exploded into an iron cable, which wrapped around the man’s neck, binding him to a pillar.

“Who are you?” Oliver demanded.

“Merely a follower,” the man said in a deep vice.

“Of who?!” Oliver demanded.

“My brother,” he said vaguely, to Oliver’s frustration.

“Did he give you the Mirakuru, did he inject you with it?!” Oliver demanded.

“No, he saved me with it,” the man said.

The man then broke the cable with his bare hands before rushing Oliver. Oliver fired two arrows, one each hitting the man’s feet, pinning him. The man did not seem to register the pain as he tried to strike Oliver but Oliver ducked, avoiding his fists. Oliver delivered several punches and struck him with his bow a few times but this had no effect. The man knocked the bow out of Oliver’s hands before ripping one of the arrows out of his foot. Oliver dodged a punch and moved behind the man, delivering several punches to his back but they remained futile. The man ripped the other arrow out of his foot before backhanding Oliver, sending him flying across the room.

Oliver tried to get up but the man grabbed him and threw him into the air. Oliver hit his back on an air conditioning united before falling back to earth. Before he could hit the ground, the man punched him, sending him flying into some shelves. Oliver felt some prick him in the leg as he landed in the pile of destroyed boxes. He saw two syringes in his leg before he passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oliver is framed as being jealous of Barry in the show, but this makes little sense when you actually look at the situation. Oliver is shown to be suspicious of Barry from the moment he walks into the room, which makes sense, given that he was betrayed by two people he had trusted his whole life. Barry also could not give a straight answer, as Barry is a terrible liar. So, Oliver’s reaction is not related to jealousy, but out of trust issues. This is supported by the fact that he has never before or since done anything like this with Tommy, Ray, or Billy.
> 
> And honestly, Barry being tied to the Olicity BS is what made it hard to get behind him as a character. It wasn’t until the Pilot of Flash that I got on board with him. It also completely ruined the Barry/Felicity ship for me.


	23. Ghosts part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Diggle take desperate action to save Olvier, causing tension with Oliver. When Roy backs off, Sin reaches out to another friend for help looking into Max's death.

Oliver had drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, at one point seeing Barry, Diggle and Felicity surrounding him, looking worried as Barry shined a flashlight in his eyes. Shado had been there to, reaching a hand out for him and he’d instinctively reached for her as well.

Currently, Oliver was out cold, his mind tormenting him with images from the past.

_“Survive,” Robert said before shooting himself._

_“Time to choose Oliver!” Ivo said as he whirled the gun at Sara and Shado. _

_“I wish you had died on that island,” Tommy drunkenly sneered._

_“You cannot die until you have known complete despair. And you will know it. I promise,” Slade sneered at him._

Oliver’s eyes snapped open and, on instinct, he reached up and grabbed the person above him by the neck. Suddenly, other people were there and Oliver realized he was strangling Barry as Diggle tried to pry him off. Oliver let Barry go and slumped against a table as Oliver’s confused mind tried to make sense of this.

“What-what is going on?” he demanded as he pulled himself to his feet.

"You were injected with a strong acting blood coagulant,” Felicity explained.

“You would have stroked out," Barry said clearing his throat, unusually calm for someone who had nearly been choked to death. “But fortunately you had a very effective blood thinner handy. Warfarin. Better known as rat poison.”

"Kid saved your life, Oliver,” Diggle told him.

“This is the point in a lifesaving emergency where you thank the person that did the lifesaving,” Felicity said as Oliver turned to look at her incredulously.

“So let me get this straight Felicity. You told someone we barely know my secret and now you want me to just, what, roll over and accept that?” Oliver asked angrily.

“Well, we didn't have time to get your vote, what with you unconscious and dying,” Felicity shot back as she walked around the table to face him.

“What happens if he leaves her and goes right to the police?” Oliver asked angrily.

“He wouldn’t do that,” Felicity said immediately and Oliver laughed humorlessly.

“Right, because you know him so well after two days,” Oliver said sarcastically as he turned to look at Barry, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. “The truth is we know nothing about Barry. When I brought you two on, I did my homework on both of you. I do not trust easily, you know that. And right now, you are making it very hard to remember why I trusted you.”

For a moment, it was silent as Felicity stared at Oliver, feeling a divide forming between them. Then, Barry cleared his throat.

“Look, I don’t want to cause problems here. But I’m not gonna tell anyone, I swear,” Barry said as he walked forward, holding up a piece of tape. “The man who grabbed your neck, I was able to absorb the residual oils from his skin, which, when added to a gel-based polymer, might be able to recreate his fingerprint.”

Oliver stared at Barry, conflicted. Oliver did not think that Barry would sell him out, in truth. But the fact that Felicity saw no issue with telling someone she barely knew his secret pissed him off. If she couldn’t see how dangerous that was, maybe he was wrong to recruit her.

“Just do it,” Oliver said tiredly before turning to Diggle, pointedly ignoring Felicity. “He has what he needs to mass produce the serum from the island. And we need to stop him.”

“Where are you going man?” Diggle asked as Oliver began making his way out.

“I need to leave before I say something I regret,” Oliver said coolly and Felicity winced as he walked out.

The Glades

Same time

“What do you mean we need to stop?” Sin asked as she stared at Roy in disbelief.

“Sin, when a maniac with a bow and arrow tells you to stay off this, you listen. Frankly, I’m surprised that he didn’t put an arrow in me,” Roy said. “He seemed to know a lot more about it than we do. I say we let him search into this on his own.”

“Oh screw you,” Sin snapped as she stormed out.

Roy sighed as he stared after her. That could have gone better.

Queen Mansion

Later in the morning

Oliver walked into the parlor and stopped as he saw Moira decorating a Christmas tree.

“Oliver sweetheart, are you alright?” Moira asked as she saw how pale Oliver looked. “Did Malcolm…”

“He’s dead, I made sure of it this time,” Oliver promised as he saw the Christmas tree. “It’s Christmas. I didn’t even realize…”

“Yes, well, you’ve been quite busy,” Moira noted as she walked over to him. “Are you sure you’re alright sweetheart? Maybe you should go lay down.”

“I need to be at full strength mom,” Oliver said stubbornly.

“And do you feel at full strength now?” Moira asked pointedly and Oliver looked away, unable to lie. “Even the vigilante needs rest every now and then. Go up to your room and get some sleep, at least a little. For me.”

Up in Thea’s room, Thea sat on her bed as Sin paced back and forth.

“And then he just said to let it go! Like it’s some hobby are something!” Sin ranted to Thea.

“You sure we’re talking about the same Roy?” Thea asked skeptically.

“I don’t know who that guy was, but it sure as Hell looked like him,” Sin said angrily.

“Are you? Going to let it go?” Thea clarified when Sin looked at her confused.

“Hell no,” Sin said immediately.

“Okay. I’m in,” Thea said as she got to her feet. “But we do this my way.”

In the halls, Oliver was on his way to his room, about to take his mother’s advice when he saw someone walking down the hall. It wasn’t Thea, Oliver noted as he followed after her, his body tense. He rounded the corner and frowned when he saw no one was there.

"Nǐ hǎo, qīn'ài de."

His blood ran cold as Oliver turned to the side of him. Shado stood a few feet from him, as beautiful as the day Oliver had met her six years earlier.

“Shado,” Oliver breathed as he walked over, placing a hand on the side of her face.

She felt real, she felt alive. But Oliver knew it was a lie. She had died, he had buried her himself.

“You can’t be here,” Oliver said as he dropped his hand to his side.

“I had to see you, I had to warn you,” she said.

“Warn me?” Oliver repeated confused.

"You can't fight what's coming. Put down your bow,” Shado told him gently.

“What’s coming?” Oliver demanded.

“Don’t you already know?” Shado asked softly.

“Oliver?” Oliver turned around, seeing Moira looking at him in concern.

“Who are you talking to?” Moira asked confused and Oliver turned back to see Shado was gone.

“No one…no one at all,” Oliver said lowly.

Arrow lair

Late morning

“You three have taken down some nasty people,” Barry said as he examined Oliver’s suit in awe. “The Doll Maker, Count Vertigo, Dodger, The Huntress."

“We weren’t keeping score,” Diggle shrugged.

“I was,” Barry said as Oliver walked in.

“Barry,” Oliver said and Barry looked over at him. “The rat poison that you gave me, are there any side effects?"

“Yeah, hallucinations I think,” Barry said before pausing. “And excessive sweating. Are you sweating excessively?"

“You’re hallucinating?” Felicity realized as they all looked at Oliver in concern. “What are you seeing?"

“Sh-someone I knew on the island,” Oliver said, not wanting to get into his past with Shado.

"You did train in a jungle or forest environment, hence the green," Barry said excitedly before he saw the look on Oliver’s face. "Hey, let me draw some blood, see what's up." 

Oliver and Barry moved over to the medical station and Barry began getting some materials to draw blood.

“Hey, can I ask you something? Why no mask? Not to tell you how to do your vigilante…ing, but the grease paint thing? It’s a poor identity concealer,” Barry said as he began drawing blood.

“So find me a mask that conforms perfectly to my face and doesn't affect my ability to aim while I'm on the run,” Oliver said sarcastically.

"You should look into a compressible micro fabric. It could be great,” Barry said as he finished taking the blood sample.

“Found Cyrus Gold,” Felicity said from over by the computers.

“Who’s Cyrus Gold?” Oliver asked as he and Diggle walked over to the computers.

"The human weapon that left you nearly dead last night. The kid did manage to pull his print off your neck," Diggle explained.

Oliver nodded, looking over his shoulder at Barry. Barry had talent, that was for sure. In another life, he might have tried recruiting Barry in his early days.

"I've had facial recognition software scanning closed circuit cameras all over town,” Felicity said, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts as she pulled up an image of Gold. “He's at the corner of Delgado and 25th right now, but we're just about to lose him."

"What else is at that intersection?" Oliver asked.

"A parking lot, a market, a motel,” Felicity listed.

“Could be where he’s holed up,” Diggle noted.

“I got this,” Oliver said as he moved towards his suit.

“Oliver,” Diggle stepped on front of Oliver. “Why don’t you let me handle this? It’s just recon.”

They were concerned about him, Oliver realized. They had reason to. And it was just recon.

“Fine, but I’m going as your backup,” Oliver said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Diggle nodded and the two walked out of the lair together.

DA’s office

Same time

Laurel frowned at the flowers she had received from Sebastian Blood. She had been receiving gifts from him recently, which she guessed was a form of courtship. But Laurel couldn’t help but remember the feeling of unease that had washed over her when he had approach her at Moira’s trial. Oliver was right; there was something off about Blood.

“Secret admirer?”

Laurel nearly jumped, whirling around to see Thea and a spiky, dark haired girl approach her desk.

“No, my father,” Laurel lied, hiding the note. “You must be Sin.”

“Hey,” Sin said awkwardly, feeling out of place.

“So what brings you by?” Laurel said curiously, knowing Thea would not have come to her easily after the trial.

“We need your help,” Thea said. “Sin’s friend was murdered, but the police aren't going to investigate. They said that he OD'ed, end of story."

“Check this out,” Sin said, pulling out the blood drive pamphlet and handing it to Laurel. “He earned extra money donating blood. We found it in Max's apartment. They wouldn't have accepted his blood if he was using, right?"

“No, hospitals generally don’t accept contaminated blood,” Laurel said as she looked down at the pamphlet. “When did he go missing?”

“The day of the blood drive,” Thea said and a pit of dread began to form in Laurel’s stomach. “If he did donate blood there, maybe they at least know something that happened to him."

“I’ll ask around,” Laurel promised.

“Thank you Laurel,” Thea said gratefully.

Still, they left right after. It would take time to heal these wounds, Laurel noted, Still, she had other worries, she thought as she glanced down at Blood’s picture of the pamphlet. It seemed like it was time to take a closer look at Starling’s favorite son.

Starling City

Night

Diggle got out of the car, Oliver staying inside. This was a new feeling, Oliver mused.

“If you get bored, I keep a book of crossword puzzles in the glove box," Diggle joked and Oliver scowled.

“Not funny,” Oliver grumbled.

Diggle entered the motel and made his way up to the room where Felicity had determined Gold was staying in. Shinning a flashlight, Diggle looked around cautiously. It was cleared out, save for a bed, which had no sheets on.

“What do you see?” Oliver asked over the Comms.

“It’s clean, really clean,” Diggle noted before finding a book, opened, on the kitchen counter.

“Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday,” Diggle read outload.

“Christened on Tuesday. I know the poem. It symbolizes the seven stages of life from birth to death," Oliver noted.

“What stage is this guy in?" Diggle wondered.

Hearing someone behind him, Diggle whirled around. Gold was there, and he grabbed Diggle’s arm before he could fire his gun at him. Tightening his grip on Diggle, Gold forced the gun away as Diggle fired off several shots. Diggle groaned in pain before punching Gold but it didn’t even faze the man. Gold pushed Diggle into the other room and, seeing a window, Diggle jumped through it, making his escape. Diggle held onto the fire escape before swinging up to the stairs. Diggle quickly raced down and jumped to the ground once he was at a safe distance. Oliver rolled up in the car and Diggle quickly raced into the passenger’s seat.

“Go go go!” Diggle chanted and Oliver took off.

Oliver had been right, Diggle realized. This guy, he wasn’t human. Not anymore. And Diggle honestly wasn’t sure if they could beat him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, Felicity and Diggle really did not have much choice in bringing Barry in to save Oliver’s life, so I’ll cut her some slack on that. But her acting like Oliver was being unreasonable was beyond annoying, since Oliver had good reason to distrust Barry at that point in time. Aside from the fact that Felicity met Barry two days ago, Barry had spent half of that time lying to them. It’s not exactly a good way to win over Oliver. Of course we knew Barry wasn’t going to expose Oliver, but Felicity’s blind faith was just unbelievable. 
> 
> I also cut that ‘Fantasy Island’ comment because I just didn’t want to deal with it. The more I look at Felicity’s ‘funny’ moments, the more they just seem insensitive and outright offensive after season one.


	24. Ghosts part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Oliver continues to receive hallucinations, Roy and Jade come to a crossroads. Quentin and Hilton go after Gold with tragic results.

Starling City  
Night

On a rooftop, Oliver stood in his suit, staring down at the city as he heard a door open, knowing his guest had arrived.

“When you’re calling me, things must be bad,” Quentin said as he walked over to Oliver, who silently turned around and handed Quentin a file.

“Cyrus Gold. He robbed the Applied Sciences Division of Queen Consolidated last week,” Oliver said as Quentin looked at the file before looking up as Oliver spoke again. “Detective, he’s extremely dangerous.”

"The CSI kid from Central City, he said this guy was like some kind of monster,” Quentin remembered.

“He is,” Oliver said grimly. 

“What is it, some kind of steroid?” Quentin asked.

“Worse, it’s…”

Oliver trailed off. Standing over Quentin’s shoulder, staring down at them from on top the door was Slade Wilson, looking at Oliver with a glare. But it wasn’t Slade, Slade was dead, Oliver told himself. But that did nothing to help.

Sensing Oliver looking at something, Quentin looked around, but there was no one else there.

“You alright?” Quentin asked cautiously, wondering if he should be worried or not.

“No,” Oliver said, focusing back on the task at hand. “I’ve been compromised.”

"What does that mean?” Quentin asked confused.

“It means I’m a liability,” Oliver said roughly, feeling Slade’s gaze burning into him. “You have to take my word on this Detective. Gather as many men as you can, and do not hesitate to kill Cyrus Gold. Because if given the opportunity, he'll do the same to you." 

Oliver then turned away from both Quentin and Slade. He fired off an arrow with a line, which hit the side of the roof and Oliver used it to climb down the side of the building, running away from his past. 

The Glades  
Same time

Roy was stacking the shelves when Jade walked up behind him. Roy tensed, Sin’s words about Jade having a thing for him flashing through his mind.

“So, did you manage to help Sin find her friend?” Jade inquired.

“Yeah, yeah I did,” Roy said with a grimace as he remembered Max’s body with blood stained tears.

“From that look, I’d say it didn’t have a happy ending,” Jade noted.

“No, it didn’t,” Roy said quietly as his thoughts went to Sin, hoping she would be okay. 

“Did something happen while you were helping her?” Jade asked randomly and he looked at her, or towards her, as he hadn’t quiet managed to make himself look her in the eyes since Sin had told him of her feelings for him.

“What makes you say that?” Roy asked evasively.

“Because you haven’t been able to look me in the eyes for two days,” Jade said bluntly as she walked over to him, grabbing his face and making him look at her. “What is wrong with you?”

Roy wasn’t sure what happened, maybe something in him just snapped. But the next thing he was aware of, he had grabbed Jade, pinning her against the shelves as he kissed her. Although taken back, Jade soon returned the favor, wrapping her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. It was different than it had been with Thea or any other girl he had been with. It was raw, animalistic, primal. 

The moment was shattered when the sound of broken glass pierced the air. They pulled back, gasping for air as they saw a bottle had fallen off the shelf during their passionate moment.

“I’ll go get a broom,” Roy said, letting Jade go.

He walked out and Jade stared after him, wondering what had just happened. 

Queen Mansion, next day  
Morning

Laurel hadn’t been sure what to expect when she rang the doorbell to Queen Mansion, but Moira Queen opening the door had not been at the top of the list. 

“Moira,” Laurel said awkwardly. 

The last time the two women had seen each other had been when Laurel had been prosecuting Moira. Laurel was understandably weary of coming into contact with Moira.

“Laurel,” Moira said pleasantly, no sign of any ill will in her voice or on her face. “May I help you?”

“I’m here to see Thea,” Laurel said awkwardly and Moira nodded.

“She’s upstairs in her room,” Moira said as she let Laurel.

“I noticed on the drive up that your house wasn't festooned with Christmas decorations,” Laurel said, more to fill the awkwardness than anything. 

“Given the public’s opinion of me, we decided it would be best to keep the holidays a private affair this,” Moira explained and Laurel nodded.

“Speaking of, I wanted to apologize,” Laurel said and Moira raised an eyebrow. “For my cross examination of you.”

“Laurel, you have nothing to be sorry about,” Moira told her sternly, taking Laurel back. “You were doing your job. I’m sorry that my poor decisions put you in that position, you never should have been forced to do that.”

“You don’t owe me any apologies Moira,” Laurel said but Moira shook her head.

“But I do,” Moira said as she thought of Malcolm. 

“Well, I should go see Thea now,” Laurel said awkwardly.

Laurel left, more to get away from the awkwardness than anything. As she walked up the stairs, Oliver entered the room, looking at Laurel’s retreating form oddly.

“Was that Laurel?” Oliver asked, wondering if he was still hallucinating. 

“Yes, apparently she stopped by to see Thea,” Moira said, looking over at her son and noting how tired and pale he seemed. “Are you alright? You got in late, later than usual.”

“Yeah…no,” Oliver admitted, deciding he didn’t want to lie to Moira. “I’m…seeing things.”

“What do you mean?” Moira asked as she looked more worried.

“Yesterday, when you asked me who I was talking to, I saw Shado, a woman I knew on the island. And last night, I saw Slade Wilson. They’ve both been dead for almost five years,” Oliver said, averting his gaze and not noticing Moira tense as she heard Slade’s name. “I feel like I’m losing my mind mom.”

“You’re not losing your mind sweetheart,” Moira said certainly. “After The Gambit, I used to see you and your father. And after I went to prison, I saw Tommy and others who died because of me.”

“This isn’t grief mom,” Oliver said annoyed.

“I never said it was. But there is something you need to face, otherwise you would not be seeing these people,” Moira said wisely and Oliver finally looked back at her.

“And what do I need to face?” Oliver asked as she looked at him kindly.

“That’s something you need to figure out for yourself,” Moira said kindly. 

Upstairs in Thea’s room, Laurel was explaining her findings to Thea and Sin.

“I checked into the blood drive and it's all legitimate. In fact, what Alderman Blood has done has helped save a lot of lives,” Laurel said and Sin looked dejected.

"So if the blood drive is on the up and up, then how are we supposed to find Max's killer?" Sin asked, about ready to give up.

“While I was looking into the blood drive, I did find something,” Laurel said, pulling out a file and handing it to Thea. “All of the blood donors at the drive were subjected to a psych evaluation by the Langford Institute." 

“Is that legal?” Thea asked as she looked at the file. 

“It’s not out of the norm,” Laurel admitted. "And while someone at the institute might know if Max was on drugs, there's no way of finding out without a warrant. Which we're certainly not going to get. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help.”

Starling City Police Department  
Afternoon

“Look, I know it sounds crazy,” Quentin said as he tried to reason with his old partner.

“Human weapons?" Hilton scoffed at the thought.

Quentin didn’t blame him for this reaction. Several months and one trip to the future ago, he would have had similar reaction. But right now, it didn’t matter what either of them believed, just that they stopped this madness. 

"Look, his name is Cyrus Gold. He's the one that broke into Queen Consolidated last week. He's the one that robbed the blood bank. And he killed all those people," Quentin said insistently.

“Where are you getting all this Intel?” Hilton asked as he turned to face his old partner. 

Quentin didn’t answer, but the look on his face spoke volumes. After all these years together, Hilton was able to figure it out.

"Oh, man, what's the matter with you? Talking to the Vigilante's what got you demoted in the first place," Hilton said in disbelief as he walked away from Quentin. 

"Look, we take a small squad. McCarthy and Evans from SWAT, Jones. We can bring this guy down," Quentin almost begged as he raced after Hilton.

“I promised Jeanie I’d take her Christmas shopping,” Hilton hedged.

“Lucas,” Quentin said and the use of his first name seemed to make Hilton get how serious this was. “Please.”

“Alright, fine,” Hilton said with a sigh. “But you get to call Jeanie and tell her I'm not taking her shopping."

“Sir,” the pair looked over as Officer Daily walked over. “I don't mean to overstep, but could you guys use an extra man?"

Quentin and Hilton exchanged a glance. After all those years of being partners, they could communicate without words. Hilton walked off to grab his gear and Quentin looked over at Daily.

“Grab a vest Officer Daily,” Quentin said grimly.

Arrow lair  
Night

Barry and Felicity were talking when Oliver walked in, holding a tennis ball.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Felicity asked immediately.

“Fine. Just a little crowded at my house right now,” Oliver said. “I wanted to come down here to get a little privacy."

“Yeah, sure,” Felicity said as she got out of her chair. “Come on Barry. We can watch the countdown at Big Belly Burger."

“Your blood analysis is almost done,” Barry said as he followed after Felicity.

“Thank you,” Oliver said lowly as the pair left. 

Once he was alone, Oliver walked over and grabbed his bow off the rack. Oliver tossed the tennis ball across the room and fired an arrow. However, someone caught the arrow and Oliver lowered his bow in shock.

“What’s the matter kid? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Slade Wilson sneered.

Starling City  
Same time

Quentin led his squad of officers towards the door of a building in The Glades, all of them having their guns drawn.

“Are you sure he's in there?" Quentin asked one of the officers.

“Yes, sir. Sector car spotted Cyrus Gold entering. He hasn’t left,” she said and Quentin nodded as they reached the door.

“Safeties off,” Quentin ordered before breaking the lock on the door.

The officers entered the building, shinning their lights. For a moment, it was silent as they searched for Gold. Then, a sawblade was thrown through the air and one of the officers cried out as he was hit in the back, dying instantly. The other officers whirled around as Gold jumped down, knocking one of the officers against some barrels and knocked Daily against a desk, breaking their arm in the process. 

Gold then vanished, seeming to disappear into the shadows, leaving only Hilton and Quentin.

“Open and surround him!” Quentin ordered, shining his light as he looked for Gold. 

Hilton walked over to the officer Gold had shoved into some barrels. He felt for a pulse but shook his head at Quentin sadly. Feeling a swell of righteous fury, Quentin moved deeper into the building with Hilton surrounding him. For a moment, there was nothing, then they heard a noise above. Someone had pushed some cardboard boxes off the top of the shelves and Quentin ended up buried underneath them.

Then he was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air. Gold slammed him against a stack of wood. Quentin sent a series of punches towards Gold’s masked face but it was useless. Seeing a key dangling from Gold’s neck, Quentin snatched it off him as Hilton opened fire. This only seemed to annoy Gold. He tossed Quentin to the ground, knocking him out before turning on Hilton. 

Gold grabbed Hilton’s gun and twisted the barrel. Hilton realized what he as planning but couldn’t stop it. The barrel was bent back until it was under his chin. Gold pulled the trigger and a single shot was fired.

Arrow lair  
Same time

“This is a nice place. It's a bit more comfortable than the fuselage on the island,” Slade noted as he walked around the lair, still holding the arrow Oliver had fired.

“You’re not real,” Oliver said, more to himself than Slade.

“Neither are you,” Slade shot back, stopping in front of the glass case containing Oliver’s suit. “You told everyone when you started this crusade that it was about making up for your father's sins. That was a lie.” Slade snapped the arrow in two, dropping it to the floor before he turned around to face Oliver. “This charade is to atone for your sins."

“You’re dead,” Oliver said bluntly. 

“You are not a hero. Or a friend. Or a brother,” Slade said and Oliver turned away from him, trying to compose himself. “Do not turn your back on me! Not again.”

“You’re gone,” Oliver said, more to himself than Slade.

"Wherever I am, it’s time you joined me."

Slade rushed Oliver, pushing him into a weapons cabinet. Oliver retaliated, swinging his bow at Slade’s head but Slade evaded. Slade struck him, sending Oliver into a table.

“They say a coward dies a thousand deaths, but even that wouldn’t be enough for you,” Slade sneered.

“I tried to save you!” Oliver snapped as he turned back to Slade. “And her.”

“But you couldn’t,” Slade said as he pointed a finger at Oliver accusingly. “Just like you couldn't save your city." 

Angrily, Oliver rushed Slade and they began trading blows. Oliver used his bow to deflect some of Slade’s strikes but Slade knocked the bow out of Oliver’s hands and punched him. Oliver was sent flying over a table, knocking over some beakers as he fell to the floor. Slade flipped the table out of his way before grabbing Oliver and haling him to his feet, putting the younger man in a choke hold.

“The island didn’t make you strong kid, it revealed you to be weak,” Slade sneered in Oliver’s ear.

Slade then tossed Oliver into the glass case containing his suit. The glass shattered as Oliver and the mannequin fell to the floor. Oliver looked around wildly but Slade was gone. Or he had never been there at all. 

Roy’s house  
Not long after

Roy was on his couch, staring at a picture on his phone of Thea. He was debating calling her to wish her a Merry Christmas when someone knocked on his front door. Roy pocketed his phone and walked over to his door, opening it to reveal Jade on the other side.

“Hey,” Roy said lamely.

Almost immediately, he winced. This…was awkward. They had not really spoken since the…incident in the back of the bar.

“Hey? You kiss me, bail, and all I get is ‘hey’?” Jade asked incredulously. 

“I’m not good with…feelings,” Roy admitted, letting her in. 

“Well don’t we start with why did you kiss me?” Jade demanded as she crossed her arms.

“I don’t know,” Roy admitted. “Sin told me that you have a thing for me and it just…it caught me off guard.”

“Why does me having feelings for you bother you so much?” Jade demanded.

“Because I just got out of a long term relationship, the longest relationship I’ve ever had,” Roy said. “I don’t think I’m ready for another one.”

“So, what, I don’t get a say in that?” Jade asked angrily. “You just decide for both of us that nothing will happen, after you kiss me by the way?”

“I’m sorry Jade,” Roy said remorsefully.

Angrily, Jade moved to slap him and Roy caught her wrist out of pure instinct. 

He was a bad guy once, this wasn’t the first time someone had tried to slap him.

Angrily, Jade pushed him and he stumbled back as she threw out a kick at him. Roy barely dodged, getting out of the way.

“I’m an ass, but isn’t this overreacting?” Roy asked.

“Overreact this!” Jade snarled as she tried to punch him.

Out of patience, Roy grabbed her arms and pinned her against the wall. For a moment, it was silent save for Jade’s breath, the room filled with an energy Roy couldn’t name. Suddenly, Jade leaned up and caught his lips in a kiss. Surprised, Roy let go and she managed to push him down onto his back. They continued to kiss before she removed her shirt and all but ripped his open.

Arrow lair  
Later

Oliver was cleaning up the broken glass when Felicity and Barry returned, shocked at the destruction.

“What happened in here? Did someone break in?” Felicity asked shocked.

“No,” Oliver said bluntly before a beep went off.

“Hey, your blood analysis is done,” Barry called over as he sat down.

"So you know what's in my system?" Oliver asked as he made his way over to Barry.

“That’s the thing, your blood’s clean. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Barry said apologetically. 

"Then why am I hallucinating?!" Oliver demanded.

“I don’t know,” Barry admitted. "But whatever your problem is, it's not pharmacological. It's psychological. It's in your head."

“It’s in my head,” Oliver finished with Barry.

Just like his mother had told him, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Talia whispered in the back of his mind. 

“Oh my God,” Felicity said in horror from where she sat at the computer, making Oliver look over. “Oliver.”

Starling General Hospital  
Later

Quentin woke up in a hospital bed, feeling like he’d just gone a round with a monster truck. Laurel, who had been sitting in the chair nearby, leaned close as she saw he was awake. 

“Dad,” Laurel said relief in her eyes.

“Hey,” Quentin said lowly, grasping her hand in an attempt to comfort her. “Well, I can wiggle my toes; it must be a good sign."

“Don’t joke right now,” Laurel said with a shaky breath.

“I’m alright honey, I’m alright,” Quentin assured her. “How’s Lucas, is he alright?”

The words caught in Laurel’s throat, not sure how to tell him. But the look on her face must have been a giveaway, as realization washed over Quentin’s face as he leaned back, tears starting to form in his eyes.

“I-I gotta call Jeanie. I gotta call his wife,” Quentin said weakly. 

“Dad, I’ll do it, you just stay here and rest,” Laurel said in a voice that left no room for argument. 

Quentin nodded, a numbness spreading through him as Laurel rose to her feet and walked out. As she walked down the hall, a familiar voice called out to her.

“Ms. Lance,” Laurel whirled around to see Blood standing a few feet from her.

“Alderman,” Laurel greeted politely.

“I heard about your father. How is he?” Blood asked, seeming concerned.

“He’ll be alright. Did you come all this way to see how my dad was?” Laurel asked, alarm bells going off in her head.

“Ms. Lance, for all the issues the people of The Glades have with the police department, many of us have great respect for your father. It’s no secret that it was because of his actions that The Glades were not completely destroyed. Many feel that he was unjustly persecuted for his heroics,” Blood told her.

Laurel simply nodded, the feeling of unease not leaving her. As she walked off, Blood looked over at Daily, whose arm was in a case as they exchanged a nod.

Back in Quentin’s room, Oliver, dressed in his suit, had entered the room.

"How are you, Detective?" he asked softly.

“I’m alive. Unlike most of my unit,” Quentin said grimly.

“I’m sorry about your partner,” Oliver said.

“I took him in there,” Quentin said guiltily.

“Because of me,” Oliver said lowly and Quentin let out a humorless chuckle. 

“I hate to disappoint you, but not every death in this city is on you," Quentin said, pulling out the key he’d taken from Gold and putting it on the nightstand by his bed side. “I got this off Gold. Hopefully you can do something with it.”

Oliver walked over and took the key off the nightstand. It wasn’t much, but it was something. Hopefully, it could lead them to Gold. 

“I didn’t believe it at first, but this guy, I mean, it's like he's not human," Quentin said, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.

“He’s human,” Oliver said after a beat.

“Then you can kill him. For Hilton, and me,” Quentin told him. 

Roy’s house  
Same time

Somehow, they had made it to Roy’s bedroom. Now, in the afterglow period, the pair just laid in bed, dressed only in sheets. The room was silent, save their breathing.

“I was not expecting that,” Roy admitted.

“Well, they say fighting leads to sex,” Jade joked and then it was silent.

“So where do we go from here?” Roy finally asked.

“That’s up to you. I like you and I think you like me. So where do you want this to go?” Jade asked and Roy was silent for a minute.

“I think we should take a step back. Maybe try and do things the right way, dates, that sort of thing. So…you got plans on New Year’s?” Roy asked lamely and Jade laughed.

“Take me on a date first…then we’ll talk on New Year’s,” Jade told him before rising from the bed to get her clothes. 

Arrow lair  
Later

Oliver was sharpening his arrows, his mind on his conversation with Quentin when Diggle called out to him.

“I think those arrows are sharp enough,” Diggle noted.

“With what we’re dealing with, unlikely,” Oliver said as he pulled back, noting the sharp edges.

“Is everything okay?” Diggle asked as he walked over to Oliver.

“No,” Oliver said honestly.

“You wanna talk?” Diggle asked.

“No,” Oliver repeated.

“Guys, we got something here,” Felicity called out and the pair began making their way over to her and Barry at the computers. “I scanned the key Lance gave you, and traced its serial code back to the manufacturer."

"This particular key fits a locked gate somewhere on Crescent Circle in the Glades," Barry added.

Oliver nodded, grabbing his bow off the weapons rack.

“Wait, where are you going? You can’t go out there in your condition,” Felicity said worriedly as she got out of her seat.

“I have to Felicity,” Oliver said simply.

“Oliver, Gold left you half dead, which is 50 percent better than how he left Detective Hilton,” Felicity said in a panic.

“Felicity,” Diggle said and she looked over at him. “We’ve tried it every other way. Oliver is the only one who stands a chance against this guy.”

“He’s the only one who knows what he’s up against,” Barry added and Oliver nodded at both of them in thanks.

“I have to end this Felicity,” Oliver said simply before he walked out.

Langford Institute  
Same time

Sin, unwilling to wait around, had snuck into the institute. She smashed her hand through the glass on the door and reached through, unlocking it. Shaking off the cuts on her hand, she walked inside, walking over to a filing cabinet. She tried opening a drawer but it was locked. The one underneath it wasn’t, so she pulled it out and began looking through the files. Finding the last name ‘Stanton, she pulled it out, seeing a picture of Max on the front. Pulling at the picture, she saw ‘Mirakuru’ was printed on the back.

Hearing a noise, Sin realized someone was there. Closing the drawer, she rushed over to the desk and hid underneath. Her heart hammering in her chest, she clutched the folder to her as she heard something being poured on the floor. Gasoline, she realized with dread.

Rushing out, she pushed the man pouring it into the wall and made a break for it. However, she had only made it halfway down the hall before someone grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. The last thing she saw was a man with a black mask standing over her before she lost consciousness. 

When Sin came to, she was strapped to a chair. Looking around as she became aware of her surroundings, she saw that the room she was in resembled some kind of mad science lab. The man who had been pouring gasoline on the floor at Langford, Doctor Langford, was pulling something out of some device Sin didn’t know what was. Langford put the vial he had taken out in a needle.

“It’s ready,” Langford said, presenting it to a man in a Skull mask.

“Is that this Mirakuru? Is that what you injected Max with?” Sin demanded as the man in the skull mask approached her. “Get that away from me or I’ll kill you!” 

“No Sister Sin, you’ll kill for me,” the masked man said before he stuck her in the neck.

Sin felt like fire was spreading through her veins as she was injected. Sin cried out in pain before a noise from above distracted the men.

They looked up as a small explosion destroyed part of the ceiling. Oliver jumped down, firing an arrow into Langford’s leg, taking him down. Oliver notched another arrow and took aim at the man in the mask.

“Brother Cyrus told me he killed you,” the man said.

"Guess he's not as strong as you'd hoped. Where'd you get the Mirakuru? Who gave you the formula?!" Oliver demanded.

“It was a gift. A gift I would use to save this city from itself," the man said as he held the vial relevantly.

Gold then rushed Oliver but Oliver fired. The arrow hit Gold in the shoulder but Gold ignored it. Oliver swung on the line he had gotten in on; trying to strike Gold in the head with a spinning kick but Gold grabbed him. Oliver was thrown into the wall, going through it as Sin’s wails of pain pierced the room, tears of blood pouring down her face. Gold stalked over and Oliver grabbed his bow just as Gold kicked him. Oliver was sent sliding across the room, his earlier wounds acting up. Then it was quiet, eerily so. Oliver looked up to see Sin unresponsive, slumped to the side as the masked man checked her pulse.

“Another failure,” he said.

Oliver slumped to the ground a sense of defeat overwhelming him.

“Get up,” a voice that was more familiar to him than his own suddenly spoke up.

Shock flooded through him. It couldn’t be, Oliver told himself as he pulled himself into a half sitting position.

“Get up son,” Robert Queen told him.

“Dad?” Oliver breathed in shock.

“I gave my life so that you could live. Not so that you could die down here,” Robert told him.

“I’m sorry Dad…I failed. I couldn’t stop The Undertaking. I made you die for nothing,” Oliver said remorsefully.

“My death was not your fault, it was my own,” Robert told him matter of factly.

“But if I had never been there-” Oliver started.

“I would still be dead,” Robert sad firmly. “My death was the result of a life full of bad decisions, decisions that hurt people, good people. I was not a good man Oliver. I wasn’t half the man you are.”

“I can’t - I can’t stop him Dad,” Oliver said lowly.

“Yes, you can,” Robert said with certainty. “Your destiny is not to die down here. After all you have survived; you still have so much left to do. You can’t do it if you die down here.”

Robert then rose to his feet, walking away. 

“I’m not as strong as you,” Oliver called out and Robert paused. 

“No,” Robert agreed, looking back at Oliver with a smile. “You’re stronger.”

Robert then vanished, leaving Oliver there, considering his father’s words.

“Kill him,” the masked man ordered.

Gold rushed Oliver but Oliver jumped out of the way. Oliver struck Gold with a series of fast punches before striking him with a kick, sending the surprised Gold stumbling back. Oliver then fired an arrow at the centrifuge, which exploded on contact. The chemicals hit Gold in the face, causing him to cry out as it burned him. The explosion made the roof unstable, as pieces of debris fell, one hitting Gold and killing him and another crushing Langford under it. 

The masked man rushed off but Oliver had other concerns. He rushed over to Sin, whose chair had been knocked over in the explosion. Cutting Sin’s restraints, Oliver pulled her away from the chair and immediately began compressions to her chest, trying to restart her heart.

“Come on Sin. I am not leaving anyone else to die! You’re tough Sin, so fight. Come on, fight!” Oliver ordered.

By some miracle, she seemed to hear him, as Sin opened her mouth and let out a strangled gasp for air. Oliver breathed a sigh of relief before picking up Sin and carrying her out.

Starling City  
Later

Slade was watching a news report of an earlier press conference Blood gave when Blood entered the room. Shutting it off, he gave Blood his attention. 

“So your campaign begins,” Slade noted.

“The city needs a leader. And putting the copycat hoods up to assassinating the mayor was just the first step,” Blood said before giving an awkward pause. “The Vigilante... He destroyed the centrifuge and the serum along with it."

“I will arrange for you to receive another sample of my blood. And then you can begin to mass produce the serum again. When I ask you not to confront the Vigilante, you will listen. Remember, your mask can be worn by another,” Slade said, his voice holding the promise of what Blood’s disobedience would result in.

“You know who he is under that hood, don't you?" Blood realized.

“I know exactly who he is. He is my friend,” Slade told him.

“That’s why you don’t want him dead,” Blood said in realization and Slade gave him a dark look.

"Death would be a release from this life, and his sentence is yet to be carried out,” Slade said. "I am going to tear everything he cares about away from him."

At Queen Mansion, Moira and Thea looked through pictures of past Christmases with them, Robert, Oliver, and Tommy. 

"Destroy those who choose to follow him."

At the District Attorney’s office, Laurel looked at a picture of Blood’s blood drive, a look of suspicion on her face.

“Corrupt those he loves.”

In Central City, Samantha and William sat down to dinner together.

"Once he has lost everyone and everything he values, I will drive an arrow through his eye,” Slade vowed.

Arrow lair  
Later

Oliver walked down into the lair, almost immediately greeted by a hug from Felicity, which he halfheartedly returned. 

“So Gold?” Diggle asked as he walked over. 

“Died on Saturday, buried on Sunday,” Oliver said as he released Felicity. “But we have other problems.”

“Can’t we ever get some good news?” Felicity asked in exasperation.

“Sin was injected with the Mirakuru,” Oliver said to their alarm. “I dropped her off at the clock tower where she lives and called Sara on the way here, she’s on her way back. But we will need to keep a close eye on her.”

“Great, any other problems?” Felicity asked, only half joking. 

“Gold was working with someone. I saw him; he wore a mask with the image of…of a skull. He's trying to mass produce the serum to build an army," Oliver warned them.

“Why?” Diggle wondered.

"You're a soldier. What's the primary purpose of an army?" Oliver asked.

“War,” Diggle noted and Oliver nodded before he noticed something.

“Where’s Barry?” he asked.

“He went back to Central City, wanted to get home in time to see them turn on the particle accelerator,” Felicity explained before picking up a box and handing it to Oliver. “But he did leave you this.”

Curiously, Oliver accepted it and opened it. He began to laugh as he pulled out a green mask. One which he noted would not affect his vision.

“Nice Barry, nice,” Oliver muttered, wondering how he could thank Barry.

Central City  
Same time

In his lab, Barry was looking at his board with everything he knew about his mother’s case when the news report on the Particle Accelerator said something that caught his attention.

“We are now being told to evacuate the facility,” the reporter said as Barry looked over. “The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the particle accelerator, but so far have been unable to regain control of the system-"

The power went out and Barry looked through his window at Star Labs in the distance. An orange light shot up into the sky followed by a wave of energy that stretched all the way out towards the entire city. Noticing water leaking in, Barry grabbed the chains and tried to close the shutter when he noticed something. The chemicals he was mixing started floating into the air, exactly like his fish tank the night his mom had been murdered. Barry looked up at the sound of thunder just before a huge lightning bolt struck the glass, destroying his lab and sending him flying across the room as he was struck in the chest. Barry hit the shelves, out cold as the energy passed through his body, the shape of a lightning bolt appearing on his cheek before it faded.

Roy’s house  
Later

Roy was doing some of his dishes when he heard a noise behind him. Picking up a knife, he whirled around to see Oliver, in his suit, standing a few feet from him.

“I thought you said we’d meet after the holidays,” Roy nodded.

“Circumstances have changed,” Oliver said and Roy noted he wasn’t disguising his voice before, to Roy’s shock, he lowered his hood.

“I…was not expecting that,” Roy said honestly as he lowered the knife to his side. “You’re…”

“Yeah,” Oliver confirmed.

“Why tell me now, why not wait until the holidays are over?” Roy wondered.

“Because what we’re up against, I’ll need you ready as soon as you can,” Oliver told him. “It’s time for your training to begin.”

Starling City  
Same time

Slade was in his office, looking out the window. Feeling a presence behind him, he turned around, smiling as he saw who it was.

“I’m in. Don’t worry, Roy doesn’t suspect a thing,” Jade said with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, hope you enjoyed that monster of a chapter.
> 
> I decided to have the ghosts conversation Oliver had with Diggle in the show happen with Moira instead because, to be blunt, the thing that made season one Arrow’s best season IMO was, outside the amazing action and overarching plot, the dynamic between the Queen family. To be honest, whenever the show focused on the Queen family, it was always better, obviously excluding season seven.
> 
> I don’t consider myself a great writer of romance and I am not good at executing it, but I do hope I did okay on the Roy/Jade scenes.
> 
> As much as I love the Tommy hallucination scene, and I do, it wouldn’t work here. The reason Oliver hallucinated Tommy was because he hadn’t made peace with Tommy’s death, something he has done here already. So I decided to use Robert instead.
> 
> I decided to have Sin be the one injected with Mirakuru for a few reasons. Aside from the fact that having it be Roy would be boring, the show just didn’t do much with Sin and she just kind of disappeared after season three. And injecting Sin allows me to bring back Sara earlier than in canon.


	25. Investigations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Laurel both launch separate investigations as Slade orders Jade to step up her seduction of Roy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a good Halloween. This was supposed to be a gift but I didn’t end up finishing it in time.

Starling City  
Night

A man was driving his car through the warehouse district, looking back as though running from something. Hearing the rev of an engine, he looked ahead as The Hood drove up on a motorcycle. Narrowing his eyes, the man hit the gas, accelerating as he pulled out a gun, firing wildly out the window, none of his shots making contact.

Oliver calmly pulled out an arrow from his quiver, notched it and fired. The arrow hit the hood off the car, causing sparks to fly everywhere, blinding the man. He made a wild U-Turn before flipping over on some pipes. Oliver stalked over, drawing another arrow. He seemed to be peering into the car before he suddenly raised his bow and fired. The man, who had crawled out of the car and was running away, cried out as the arrow hit him in the leg. He went down as Oliver rushed over. The man tried to get up but Oliver stomped on his back hard with one foot, pinning him to the ground.

“The man in the skull mask, who is he?!” Oliver snarled.

“I don’t know!” the man cried out fearfully.

“You're the biggest street dealer in Crescent Circle. You know everything that goes on over there. Who is he?!" Oliver demanded.

"I ain't seen the guy before! A skull mask, are you freaking kidding me?! Come on man, I'm still on parole!" the man said pathetically.

“Not anymore,” Oliver said darkly before whacking him in the head with his bow, rendering him unconscious.

He would need to place a call to Detective Lance later; Oliver mused as he headed back towards his motorcycle. In the meantime, the man with the Mirakuru was still out there and he needed to find him.

The Glades  
Later

As Sin entered the clock tower, from a building across the street, Sara watched silently as she felt a presence behind her.

“Any change?” Oliver asked as he walked up beside her.

“No. She goes out, she meets up with some friends, occasionally she meets up with Thea or Roy, then she goes home,” Sara said simply.

“It would be a lot easier to check in on how she’s doing if you let her know you were back,” Olive pointed out.

“Any luck?” Sara said, dodging the question.

“No,” Oliver said after a moment, allowing the change. “Nobody’s seen him. But he’s still out there.”

“Ollie, we have to find him. You remember what Slade was capable of on the Mirakuru,” Sara said as she turned to him, fear in her eyes.

“Yes, I do. You don’t need to remind me,” Oliver said darkly.

Starling City  
Same time

“How is Mr. Harper?” Slade asked as he met with Jade in his office.

“He doesn’t suspect a thing,” Jade said simply.

“Does he trust you?” Slade asked pointedly.

“Well, I’m screwing him, he kind of has to,” Jade said flippantly but Slade was not amused.

“Do not test me Rose,” Slade said and she stiffened.

“That is not my name,” she snapped and he smiled amused.

“You can change your name, you can change your hair, but you cannot change blood. Whether you like it or not, you are my daughter,” Slade said as he leaned back in his seat. “Make sure that Mr. Harper trusts you. Do whatever you have to do, but make sure he does.”

“Why is that so important?” Jade asked after a moment and a sinister smile flashed across Slade’s face.

“Because from trust breeds love. Once that trust is broken, so too will Mr. Harper,” Slade said.

Arrow lair  
Later

Roy and Diggle were sparing with Escirma sticks before pausing.

“Okay, how is a wooden stick supposed to help me in the streets when I’m up against a gun?” Roy complained.

“A wooden stick can be the difference between life and death,” the two men jumped at the sound of Oliver’s voice, whirling around as he walked out of the shadows. “A wooden stick is what kept me alive on the island. Learn how to use it.”

“Any luck?” Diggle asked after a beat and Oliver shook his head.

“No one has seen a man in a skull mask,” Oliver said tiredly as he put his bow away. “Roy, have any of your contacts turned up anything useful?”

“All dead ends,” Roy said apologetically and Oliver nodded, his scowl deepening. 

“Has Felicity said how long she’ll be in Central City?” Oliver inquired.

“She’ll be a few more days,” Diggle said and Oliver nodded.

“Any change in Barry’s condition?” he asked.

“Still comatose,” Diggle said and Oliver looked troubled. “Kid was struck by lightning Oliver, he’s lucky he’s even alive.”

“Yeah,” Oliver muttered a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that something was off about that. 

“So what do we do now?” Roy asked, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.

“We keep looking. Somewhere out there, someone knows where the man in the skull mask is. We just have to find him,” Oliver said firmly.

“I’ve never seen you spooked like this before,” Diggle mentioned as Oliver turned around to face him.

“That should tell you something Diggle,” Oliver said darkly.

District Attorney’s office  
Same time

Laurel was on her computer, looking up something when Quentin walked into the room.

“You ready?” Quentin asked, making Laurel look up at him in surprise. 

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Laurel asked in confusion.

“We’re supposed to go get dinner,” Quentin reminded her and Laurel looked chagrined. “You forgot?”

“I’m sorry Dad, I completely spaced,” Laurel apologized.

“What are you working on that has you so focused you’re forgetting things?” Quentin asked, not liking the look on her face.

“Sabastian Blood,” Laure said, taking Quentin back. “At Christmas, Thea and her friend came to me about a missing person’s report that turned into a death by overdose. But Max went missing after a donation to Sabastian’s Blood drive.”

“Some people have demons, you never know what can drive someone over the edge,” Quentin pointed out.

“I did some more digging; Blood has a link to the Langford Psychiatric Institute. The one that burnt down under very mysterious circumstances,” Laurel argued. “And he also knew Cyrus Gold.”

“Okay, sweetie, where are you going with this?” Quentin asked, trying to make sense of it. 

“I’m not sure yet, but you always told me to follow my instincts. Right now, my instincts are telling me that something is off about Blood,” Laurel said.

Verdant  
Later

Thea was at the bar, making sure everything was running smoothly when she saw Roy making his way through the crowd. Oliver had admitted to her that he had recruited Roy as one of his partners, so she wasn’t naïve enough to think he was here for her. Even just the sight of him reminded her how much she missed him though.

Roy exited the club, surprised to find Jade outside.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Roy asked as he made his way over to her.

“You spend a lot of free time here; I thought I’d see what all the fuss was about. You know, normal girlfriend stuff,” Jade said nonchalantly with a shrug. 

“Is that we are, boyfriend and girlfriend?” Roy asked and she shrugged.

“That’s up to you. I like you, more than I’ve liked anyone in…a long time. And I’d like to see where this goes, but it’s up to you,” Jade said and Roy was silent for a moment.

“I like you to. But I just got out of a serious relationship. So maybe we should take things slow…as slow as two people who have already slept together can take it,” Roy added as a half joke.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Jade said, grinning as she pulled him into a kiss.

As they kissed neither was aware of Thea watching this from the entrance to the club. She watched this sadly before turning around and walking back into the club. Looks like Roy was moving on, she thought sadly as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

Starling City  
Same time

In a car, a man was sitting alone in the driver’s seat, staring intently at a building.

“Freedom. Liberty. Justice. Long have the people of this city suffered under the shackles of a corrupt government. Slaves to self-interested politicians and their lobbyist puppeteers. I declare war on them all,” the man rambled before picking up a cell phone and pressing a button.

The building went up in an explosion as the man watched, satisfied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a very long chapter, I know, but next one will be longer.
> 
> The opening sequence in 2x10 is one of the earliest examples of making Oliver dumb for the plot. Oliver has been trained by Talia al Ghul to ‘see in the dark’ yet he doesn’t notice someone crawling out a car window and taking off running while he approaches said car? Really?
> 
> Yes, Jade is also Rose Wilson, Slade’s daughter. I thought it would be a nice plot twist that would not only tie Slade and the Triad together, but allow for an interesting dynamic between Slade and Jade.


	26. Making a statement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Oliver and Team Arrow pursue a bomber, Laurel continues her investigation of Blood.

Arrow Lair  
Night

“Was anyone in the building?” Oliver asked as he and Diggle walked back down into the lair after hearing news of the bombing.

"Cleaning crew and a group of bankers working out a late night deal,” Diggle said and Oliver nodded.

Oliver made his way over to the computers and began typing at it. After a few moments, the police and fire department’s dispatch came over the computer.

“It's too hot. We're falling back.”

“You've still got people on the 5th floor!”

“It's too hot! We're pulling back!”

Eyes filled with steely determination, Oliver walked over to the suit display and picked up his bow.

Starling City  
Not long after

Inside the burning building, Oliver moved around, looking for civilians when a woman ran into him.

“Help! Gary’s still back there!” she pleaded, pointing to where she had come from.

“Get to safety,” he ordered before moving towards the designated area. 

He saw a man, who he assumed was Gary, pinned under some debris. Oliver rushed over, attempting to lift the debris off Gary’s legs with no such luck. Hearing a sound above him, Oliver looked up. Seeing that the ceiling was about ready to collapse, Oliver knew he had to act fast.

“Give me your hand!” he barked.

Gary quickly grabbed onto Oliver hand as Oliver held up the debris as far as he could. Oliver pulled Gary out before dropping the debris. Oliver helped Gary stand, offering him support as they walked out of the room. They had not gotten far when they heard a car. The ceiling had collapsed and a pillar fell where Gary had been trapped.

As Gary caught his breath, he looked up to thank Oliver but Oliver was gone. Gary had no time to process this before some firemen entered the room, immediately beginning to check on him.

Outside, standing on the ledge of a building, Oliver looked down, feeling a tsunami of fury welling up inside him.

“Whoever did this needs to pay,” Sara said as she walked up behind him.

Oliver give no acknowledgement he heard her other than a slight nod. Whoever did this would face justice, he would see to that.

Queen Consolidated, next day  
Morning

“News report said that the bomber didn’t steal any money,” Oliver said as he and Diggle discussed the bombing the next day in Oliver’s office. 

“I think this was about making a statement,” Diggle said as he handed Oliver a tablet. “That went online an hour ago. His manifesto. 300 pages of anti-government hate."

Oliver frowned as he looked through the webpage. What he read as he skimmed was…disturbing. Whoever this guy was, he was a fanatic. There was little doubt in Oliver’s mind about that.

"You think this psycho's any way connected to our psycho in the skull mask?" Diggle asked, breaking Oliver out of his thoughts.

"This guy has a completely separate agenda,” Oliver said with certainty. “He's a lone wolf, but we need to find him before he finds his next target."

"I'd start with the bomb. Everyone's unique. Maybe we can get some kind of signature on the guy. But the bomb residue is with the SCPD,” Diggle noted.

“Fortunately we have an in with one of the officers at the department,” the two whirled around to see Felicity enter the room.

"I thought you were staying in Central City for a few more days,” Oliver said surprised.

“I got a news alert about the bombing. Caught the first one out to Starling this morning,” Felicity said and Oliver nodded.

“Good. We’ll need all the help we can get,” Oliver said darkly.

Starling City  
Afternoon

In his campaign office, Blood was preparing for a press conference when he saw Laurel Lance enter the room.

“Ms. Lance,” Blood said politely.

“Alderman. If now’s a bad time, I can come back,” Laurel said but he waved her off.

“It’s fine, they’re still setting up out there,” Blood said as he got up and walked over to her. “May I help you with something?”

“Yeah, actually, I was wondering if I could ask you something,” Laurel said and he nodded.

“Of course, anything,” Blood said.

“The man who attacked my father’s unit at Christmas, he was identified as a named Cyrus Gold,” Laurel said and Blood sighed, looking tired.

Blood sat down on his desk, appearing won down at this news.

"Cyrus Gold was a preacher at the orphanage where I was raised,” Blood revealed. “Cyrus was a very good friend to me, like an older brother. Or even a father figure, to be honest. He was the first person I said a word to, and this was after a month of not speaking at all."

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Laurel said honestly and he smiled weakly.

“Thank you Ms. Lance,” he said before frowning. “I don't know why Cyrus' life took the turn that it did, I'm sad to say. All I know is that he helped a very young, very frightened boy find his voice again."

It was silent as Laurel stared at Blood. If she was anyone else, she would have taken his sob story and put the matter to rest. But she’d been a lawyer for too long to buy take it at face value. She’s learned a long time ago that people would use emotions to manipulate people. She would not be manipulated. 

Laurel was broken out of her thoughts by a knock on the doorframe. One of Blood’s assistants was gesturing him forward.

“I’m sorry to cut this short. If you have any more questions, I’ll be happy to answer them later,” Blood promised.

Laurel smiled politely as Blood walked out. Once he was out of sight, Laurel walked over to his desk. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she had to find something.

It didn’t take her long to find an envelope with a stack of invoices inside. Looking out the window, Laurel made sure Blood was preoccupied with the press before pulling one out slightly. It was from somewhere called St. Walker's Hospital, addressed to someone called Maya Resik.

Arrow lair  
Night

Roy and Sara were sparing with Escirma sticks before Roy was knocked off his feet. Roy fell onto the floor as Sara had her escirma stick at his throat.

“Dead,” Sara said simply.

“At this point, I’m dead ten times over,” Roy grunted as she lowered her staff, offering a hand to help him up.

“You’re improving. That was twice the time it took me to beat you last time,” Sara said as she helped him up and Roy gave her a flat look. “Not helping?”

“Not really,” Roy said as Diggle and Felicity walked down the stairs.

“She’s right; you’ve come a long way in less than two months. You’re a natural soldier Roy,” Diggle said.

“It took Ollie and I years to get to where we are. Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Sara said before noticing that Oliver was gone. “Speaking of which, where is Ollie?”

Starling City  
Same time

Quentin was standing on a rooftop, waiting before he felt the air shift. He turned around, seeing Oliver standing behind him.

"You know, most cops, they meet their informants in the backseat of a cruiser or maybe a coffee shop or something, but-" Quentin paused as he noticed Oliver’s mask. “What's with the mask?"

“Gift from a friend,” Oliver said simply.

“You have friends?” Quentin joked and Oliver gave him an irritated look.

"Did you bring me what I asked for?" Oliver asked.

Quentin nodded, pulling out a small evidence bag and handing it to him.

"That's a sample of everything the CSU collected from the blast. There's melted glass, multiple explosive fragments, and trace residue, and it looks like nitroglycerine. Which means that we're dealing with more than just a basement nutjob," Quentin said and Oliver nodded.

“Someone with training,” Oliver agreed. “Thank you Detective.”

“I need a favor to,” Quentin said and Oliver paused. “The son of a bitch who killed my men, my partner…"

“Is dead,” Oliver assured him.

"And whoever tipped him off, told him we were coming, he's doing just fine,” Quentin said pointedly.

"What do you need?" Oliver asked after a beat.

“Cell phone records from every cop in my precinct,” Quentin said and Oliver raised an eyebrow.

“You think there’s a leak in the department?”

I think those phone records are the only way to know for sure, and your blonde friend, she's pretty good with computers,” Quentin pointed out and Oliver nodded, conceding.

“I’ll ask her-”

Whatever else Oliver was going to say was cut off by the sound of an explosion. The pair whirled around as, in the distance; they could see a building on fire. As Quentin made the call on his radio, Oliver tapped the Comms piece in his ear.

“He’s hit again,” he said urgently as he and Quentin raced down the building from opposite ends.

“Starling City Municipal Building,” Felicity said after a moment. 

"Give me a location," Oliver demanded.

“I'll give you one better; I'm checking the surrounding cell towers. There was a GSM spike of 3,800 megahertz two seconds before the blast. That frequency's way outside the approved frequency for U.S. carriers,” Felicity was quiet for a moment as she traced the signal. “Signal's moving. I think he's mobile."

“Get me an intersection!” Oliver barked.

Not long after, Oliver was racing down the highway on his motorcycle, looking for his target.

“Right in front of you, four-hundred meters,” Felicity said as he spotted a white panel van.

“I see him,” Oliver said as he revved the engine, heading towards it.

The bomber must have seen him to, because he ran a red light, a few cars having to swerve to avoid him. Oliver raced after him, swerving in and out of traffic to avoid the cars. He was gaining, but the bomber made a left.

“Turn left on 67th,” Felicity ordered and Oliver followed her instructions.

Oliver chased him for a few seconds until the bomber tossed an explosive out the car window. It landed in front of Oliver, who jumped off and used the bike as a shield as it went off. Once it was over, Oliver got back on and continued his pursuit. The bomber tossed something out the window, a smoke grenade, as the street was filled with smoke. Oliver raced through it but his target was gone.

“Felicity, I’ve lost him,” Oliver said.

“So have I, hold on a sec,” Felicity paused for a second. “Got him. Bank left on Gerrard Street. You're almost right on top of him."

Oliver sped on ahead full throttle, making a hard left. However, he had to stop, almost running into a bus. Oliver looked around wildly but there was no sign of the van.

“It’s not him Felicity. You picked up the wrong signal,” Oliver snapped.

“What?” Felicity asked stunned. “I-he must have scrambled the signal.”

“It doesn’t matter. He’s gone,” Oliver said grimly.

Arrow lair  
Later

“What happened out there Felicity?” Oliver demanded as he walked back into the lair.

“He's using cellular technology to detonate his bombs. Clearly, his expertise extends to obscuring that signal,” Felicity said lowly.

It’s not her fault, it’s not her fault, Oliver chanted in his head as he fought the urge to lash out at her.

“So what do we do now?” Roy asked, bringing Oliver back to the present.

“We try to find him, by whatever means necessary,” Oliver said darkly.

Starling City Police Department, next day  
Morning

Laurel entered the precinct, looking for her father. She saw him talking to one of the officers who had gone to apprehend Cyrus Gold with him and the other four officers. Quentin saw her and made his way over.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I’m gonna assume it’s not to check up on me,” Quentin said as a half joke.

“I need your help,” Laurel said and he raised an eyebrow. "I'm trying to find someone named Maya Resik. I searched the Internet, the DMV records, social security, nothing.”

“So why are you trying to find a ghost?” Quentin asked wearily.

“Because Sabastian Blood is paying her bills, I want to know why,” Laurel said honestly and Quentin gave her a long look. “Don’t look at me like that, I’m not crazy.”

“I never said you were. But, Laurel…I know what it’s like to get consumed by an obsession. I did it with the Doll Maker, I did with Oliver last year…I don’t want you to make my mistakes.”

“Dad, you always told me to trust my gut. Well, right now my gut is telling me that there is something off about Blood. Are you gonna help me or not?” Laurel demanded and Quentin sighed.

“Alright…but I am concerned,” Quentin said.

“And I love you for it. But I’m fine,” Laurel promised.

Queen Mansion  
Night

Oliver walked into the mansion and heard the television on. Walking into the sitting room, he saw Thea flipping through the channels.

“I thought you’d be at the club still,” Oliver said as he walked over.

“Called it an early night,” Thea said and he noticed her eyes were red.

“Are you okay?” Oliver asked as he sat down next to her.

“Not really,” Thea said and it was silent for a moment. “The other night, I saw Roy heading out of the club. I went to go talk to him for…I don’t even know what. I saw him outside the club, kissing some girl.”

Oliver nodded, not all that surprised. Roy had mentioned in passing a few times that he was involved with someone else. But Oliver doubted he had intended on telling Thea that way.

“I know it’s stupid, Roy and I are over and I had a lot to with that,” Thea said.

“But it still hurts,” Oliver said knowingly and Thea nodded.

“Yeah,” Thea said as she turned onto a local news network. 

“'Over the last few days, our resolve has been tested,” Blood said as he held a press conference. 

“What’s he doing?” Thea asked as Oliver frowned. 

“I don’t know,” Oliver said as they watched. 

“Tomorrow night, I am holding Starling's first ever unity rally at City Plaza. We are going to show the world that the people of this great city will not back down to terrorists,” Blood said, to Oliver’s alarm.

“He just committed suicide and invited the entire city to join him,” Oliver said aghast. 

“So what are you gonna do?” Thea asked.

Blood’s campaign office   
Later

Blood was on the phone when the power suddenly went out. Blood looked around in confusion when a voice spoke up.

“Sabastian Blood,” Blood’s hand went to the gun under his desk as The Hood walked out of the shadows. “This rally tomorrow night, you need to call it off."

"The Starling City vigilante paying me a visit to wave me off. I'm flattered,” Blood said as he released his grip on the gun, realizing he wasn’t in any danger. 

"This event, Mr. Blood, you might as well be painting a giant bulls eye on your chest,” Oliver warned him.

"This city needs to come together. And I need to show them how,” Blood said with certainty. 

“You won’t be able to do anything if you’re dead,” Oliver shot back.

Every night, you risk your life for the people of this city. How can you expect me to do any less?” Blood demanded as he got to his feet.

“And the people at your rally, are they simply collateral damage?” Oliver demanded. 

"This rally is about Starling City standing up and declaring with one voice that living afraid isn't living. I won't send a contrary message to people telling them to stay home, to stay scared. I've made my decision," Blood said firmly.

“Whatever has happened up to now, it’s been on him,” Oliver said as he walked over to Blood’s desk. “But what happens tomorrow night is on you. If anyone dies because of your ego and recklessness, I will hold you personally responsible.”

Oliver then walked out of the office. The power came back on and Blood looked around but there was no sign of the vigilante.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oliver lashing out at Felicity was just Guggenheim trying to get in his kicks for his dream ship and, as usual, it took up farm ore of the episode than necessary, so I scraped the whole thing. 
> 
> Blood holding his rally was, to be blunt, just stupid. There’s sending a message and then there’s just being plain reckless. A bomber is going around blowing up buildings and your solution is to invite him to a rally with multiple civilians? First he doesn’t put up any security in the gun drive, then this. For someone who claims to love Starling City, Blood really doesn’t seem to care about the people in it.


	27. The rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Blood's rally becomes a target, Team Arrow manages to locate the bomber. Laurel's investigation into Blood leads to a shocking end.

Arrow lair  
Night

Oliver and Diggle were watching a news report on the Unity Rally as Felicity listened while she worked.

“I tried to get him to stand down,” Oliver said lowly.

"He seems as stubborn as you when it comes to fighting back,” Diggle noted.

“This isn’t about fighting back; this is about Blood stroking his ego. And he’s willing to endanger innocent people to do it,” Oliver snapped. 

“Well, Roy and Sara are at the rally, just in case this guy tries anything,” Diggle said in an attempt to calm Oliver’s nerves.

“I think I have something,” Felicity said as they turned their attention to her. “I analyzed the bomb remnants we got from Lance. The design's identical to the bombs used by an anti-government militia group called The Movement. Lucky for us, they have a very active and hackable message board. One of their most prolific fans has an IP address right here in Starling."

“Tell me,” Oliver demanded.

“The computer's in a local souvenir shop. The whackadoo in question goes by the username Shrapnel,” Felicity said as she pulled up the location on a digital map of the city.

“You want backup?” Diggle asked as Oliver grabbed his bow.

“No, I want you at the rally. If Roy and Sara find something, they’ll need someone who can disarm it,” Oliver said.

Starling City Police Department  
Not long after

Quentin was looking over the phone records when Laurel walked up behind him.

“Is this all for me?” she asked in surprise.

“No, for me. Gift from Oliver,” Quentin explained ad she nodded as they began walking through the precinct. “So I found something on this Maya Resik."

“What?” Laurel asked, not sure whether to be excited or not.

“Well, she’s Blood’s aunt. Blood covers her expenses,” Quentin explained.

“If he has other family, why did he end up in an orphanage?” Laurel asked confused.

“Well, maybe because Aunt Maya is nuttier than a Snickers bar. She's a patient at St. Walker's Hospital. It's a mental institution; it's the kind you don't check out of,” Quentin explained and paused. “Laurel, there is nothing sinister about a guy who is covering the expenses of his only living relative."

“I think we learned six months ago that things aren’t always as they seem. With Slade out there somewhere, I just feel better if I can clear my mind on this. You’re always telling me to trust my instincts. Well, my instincts are screaming at me to see this through. Wherever that leads,” Laurel said and Quentin sighed.

“Alright. Just be careful sweetie,” Quentin said uneasily and she nodded.

“I will,” she promised.

Starling City  
Not long after

Oliver cautiously entered a souvenir shop, gripping his bow tightly. He heard a sound and quickly reached back into quiver and pulled out an arrow. He notched it in his bow before finding himself surrounded by several ultra-red beams.

“Boom,” a man’s voice said as Oliver looked around, realizing that the voice was coming from a speaker. “You’re dead. Or you will be if you take one more step or move a single muscle. And then you'll miss the show.”

In the corner, a monitor flared to life, showing a video feed. It was the rally, Oliver realized with dread.

“Candidate Blood's unity rally. Already rigged with 50 pounds of RDX high explosives. Not unlike what's packed inside the drywall of my store. This city thinks Sebastian Blood can keep them safe. Tonight, they learn that the only thing politicians care about is protecting their jobs,” the voice ranted.

“Felicity,” Oliver growled.

“Here. Did you get him?” she asked.

“No. He said he rigged the Plaza with an explosive device,” he said lowly.

“Oliver, it’s crazy town there. That bomb could be anywhere,” Felicity said.

“I can narrow it down. Patch me through to the others,” Oliver demanded.

“Okay, you’re good to go,” Felicity said after a moment.

“Diggle, Shrapnel said he ringed the perimeter with RDX. Roy, Sara, he’ll need to be close by in order to detonate it,” Oliver said.

“We’re on it,” Diggle said as, at the rally, he moved to look for the explosives as Roy and Sara started searching the crowd. 

“Felicity, I need you to pull me up anything you can on the store. Blue prints, permit schematics, anything,” Oliver ordered.

“What’s going on?” Felicity asked as she started to do just that. 

“Shrapnel left behind a surprise. Said he packed the drywall with explosives, but the trigger needs to be-"

"Would need to be hooked up to some sort of power supply. That's assuming that the detonator's connected to the store's electricity and not something independent like a car battery. I know, not helpful,” Felicity paused. “The building was built in the seventies. That's good news. The wiring in a lot of construction back then is defective. So if you sever one wire, it will blow fuses in the entire building and shut off power to the bomb."

Seeing a fuse box, Oliver silently aimed before releasing the draw string. The arrow went flying, hitting the fuse box, which let out an explosion of sparks as the red beams vanished.

“Oliver? Oliver?” Felicity called out worriedly as Oliver tapped the Comms piece in his suit. 

"It's all right. Tell the others I’m on my way,” Oliver said before he began heading out.

At the rally, as Blood began his speech, Roy was walking among the crowd, looking for anything suspicious when he ran into someone.

“Sorry, I – Sin,” Roy said surprised to see her there.

“Abercrombie,” Sin said as surprised to see him there. “What are you doing here?”

As Roy tried to think up an excuse, a few feet away, Sara, her hair tied back wearing a ball cap, stiffened as she saw Sin. She turned and walked back into the crowd as, by the sound equipment, Diggle popped off the back of the stereo. Inside was a cell phone hooked up to the explosives.

“I’m on the east side, I found the trigger,” Diggle said over the Comms.

“On my way,” Sara said as she began heading over to him. 

“Let me guess, you’re here on some vigilante business,” Sin said with a smirk.

“Something like that,” Roy said uneasily. “Didn’t expect to see you here though.”

“Figured I’d see what all the fuss was about,” Sin said as they looked back to where Blood was giving his speech. “What’s your take on him?”

“Not sure yet, he’s more talk than action so far,” Roy said.

Back by the sound equipment, Diggle and Sara were looking at the explosives.

“Guys, Shrapnel activates the bomb by cellular transmission,” Felicity told them.

“Then we don’t have to disarm it, just disable it,” Diggle realized.

“Okay, I’m gonna try and talk you guys through it,” Felicity said. 

“He probably put in a safeguard. Tampering with it will set off a dead man's switch," Diggle warned.

“Step away.”

Diggle and Sara whirled around. A man was standing a few feet away, aiming a gun at Diggle as he held the detonator.

“Or we all know how this ends,” he finished.

Diggle made a move towards him and he fired. Diggle went down, groaning as the crowd panicked at the sound of the gun shot. Blood’s bodyguards rushed him off the stage as Roy took off for the east side. Oliver rolled up on his motorcycle as Sara pulled out a knife. But she wasn’t in time to stop Shrapnel from throwing a grenade into the air. However, Oliver fired an arrow, which made contact with the grenade.

The resulting explosion caused a lighting tower to fall. Sin saw that it was headed towards two kids and rushed over. Just as it would have fallen on the kids, Sin used her body as a shield. To her own surprise, the weight didn’t crush her. She then rose, pushing the tower off as the kids looked at her in astonishment.

Roy was racing after Shrapnel. He paused to fire at Roy, which allowed Sara to throw her knife at him. He dodged the knife as he clutched the trigger in his hand. With a snarl, he pushed the button but, to his surprise, nothing happened. He looked down to see that the knife had cut the cord.

“You won’t be killing anyone ever again,” Sara said coldly.

Suddenly, an arrow flew out and hit Shrapnel in the chest. He went down, dead as Oliver walked over, lowering his bow.

“You’re right, he won’t,” Oliver said darkly. 

Arrow lair  
Later

“Was killing him really necessary? You could have just handed him to the police,” Felicity said as she watched a news report on the rally.

“I’ve seen what men like him are capable of Felicity,” Oliver said darkly, thinking of Shrieve. “I won’t allow history to repeat itself.” 

It was silent for a moment before Diggle and Sara walked in, Diggle’s arm in a sling.

"Another night of skull mask hunting?" Diggle asked as he saw Oliver replenishing his arrows.

“Not exactly,” Oliver said as he looked over at Diggle. “How's your shoulder?”

“Oh, just a through-and-through. Sara’s pretty good at patching up wounds,” Diggle noted and Sara shrugged.

“You have to learn on the fly out there,” Sara said simply, which Oliver, Diggle and Roy nodded in agreement with. 

“Still, Diggle, you should go home and get some rest,” Oliver almost ordered.

Diggle nodded in agreement before heading out.

It was silent in the lair before Roy spoke up.

“Sin,” he said and three pairs of eyes turned to him. “She saved two kids by pushing a lights tower off her back. That’s not possible. That’s why you’ve been watching her; you know what’s happening with her.”

“At Christmas, she was injected with something called the Mirakuru,” Oliver said after a moment and Roy fought to keep his face blank at this news. “Sara and I have experience with this. And yes, that is why we’ve been watching her.”

“What’s so bad about this Mirakuru?” Roy asked after a moment.

“The guy who killed all those cops on Christmas? He was injected,” Sara said grimly.

“Oh,” Roy said, knowing he needed to talk to the others.

If the Mirakuru was here, that meant they weren’t waiting for Slade to show up. He was already here.

Blood’s Campaign office  
Later

Blood was watching a news report on his speech at the rally when the lights went out. Less than a second later, Blood was grabbed by the front of his shirt and slammed against the wall. Standing in front of him was the furious vigilante. 

“Do you realize how close you came to getting hundreds of people killed tonight?” Oliver growled. 

“In the end, they were safe. Thanks to you,” Blood noted.

“Yes, because of me. Not because of you. You may fool average people, but tonight, you showed your true face. The bomber may have been wrong about a lot, but he was right about one thing: you do not care about anyone or anything but your own ambition,” Oliver growled.

“I love this city,” Blood said in indignantly.

“But not the people in it,” Oliver said. 

He pulled a flechette out of his sleeve and moved like he was going to stab Blood. Blood closed his eyes, anticipating the blow, but Oliver slammed the flechette into the wall, inches from Blood’s head.

“If you ever put the people of this city in danger in any way again, you will answer to me Alderman. You do not want me as your enemy. Think about that before you pull a stunt like this again,” Oliver warned before he released Blood. 

Oliver walked out as the lights came back on, leaving Blood staring after him, Oliver’s words ringing in his ear. 

Starling City  
Same time

At St. Walker’s, Laurel was let into the room of Maya Resik. Maya was in a corner of the room, singing softly to herself. Laurel felt a brief hesitance before walking further into the room. 

"Maya? I'm here to talk about your nephew,” Laurel tried.

Maya gave no indication that she had heard her, but Laurel tried anyway.

“Maya, my name's Laurel Lance. Maya?” Laurel tried again as she walked further into the room. “I'm here to talk about your nephew. Maya?”

Maya still didn’t respond. Laurel listened to the song and got an idea as she knelt down in front of Maya. 

“Maya, que Chico? Que Chico? Sebastian?" 

This finally triggered a response, as Maya looked up.

“Sebastian?” she repeated.

“Yes, Sebastian Blood,” Laurel said.

“Sebastian is the devil!” Maya suddenly shouted, taking Laurel back. “He’s the one who put me here. He made everybody think I'm insane."

“Why would he do that?” Laurel asked cautiously, not sure how much stock to put into what Maya was saying.

"He killed his father," Maya said to Laurel’s shock. "And I was there. I saw it."

It took a moment for Laurel to digest what this meant. Maya wasn’t Sebastian Blood’s aunt…she was his mother. Who had witnessed him murdering his father, if this wasn’t just a delusion. If that was the case, then Blood had covered up the only witness to his crime. And a man with that capacity for ruthless and manipulation was on his way to being mayor of Starling City.

"Don't trust a word he says. You can’t trust Sebastian Blood,” Maya said ominously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone else find it weird that, despite earlier in the episode having the same feelings about the rally as Oliver, Moira then allows Thea to drag her there instead of making Thea stop home? It feels an awful lot like making Moira change her mind for the sake of the plot. 
> 
> There wasn’t much of a chase with Shrapnel because, even with Diggle taken out, between Roy, Sara and Oliver, he would not get far. 
> 
> I went back and forth on what to do with Shrapnel, but I think the season one version of Oliver would likely kill him. Once you stop to think about it, it’s hard not to draw parallels between Shrapnel and Shrieve, and the bad memories would make Oliver not allow the chance for history to repeat itself.


	28. Sebastian Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurel's investigation into Blood takes a dark turn as Roy makes a stunning confession to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are translated from Spanish.

St. Mary’s Hospital

Night

“Thank you for letting me come by so late,” Blood told a nurse as he was led down the hall.

"Well, I can imagine how busy your schedule is. It’s really sweet of you taking the time to come visit your aunt,” she said as they stopped outside Maya’s room, the nurse taking out some keys to unlock it. “I’m afraid her health has taken a turn for the worse.”

“Of course, she’s family,” Blood said with a charming smile, seeming to ignore that news about Maya.

The nurse unlocked the door and opened it. Maya was sitting at the edge of her bed, holding a necklace in her hands when they entered.

“Maya, look who came to see you. It’s your nephew, Sebastian,” the nurse said and Maya looked up in alarm.

“Don’t go. Please,” Maya begged and Blood simply flashed a charming smile at the nurse.

“We’ll be fine,” he lied. “Thank you.”

The nurse left, closing the door behind her. Blood walked over, noticing the necklace in her hands.

“Still worshiping the old gods I see,” he said casually.

“They're the last thing I have from your father's. They protect me,” Maya said.

“He was supposed to protect you,” Blood said scornfully as he sat down next to her on the edge. “A few days ago, a woman came to see you. Laurel Lance. Do you remember her?”

"She's muy Linda,” Maya said.

“Yes, she is. What did you two talk about?” Blood demanded.

"Nada. Nothing,” Maya lied.

“You know I don’t like it when you lie to me,” Blood said with a sharp edge that had her flinching.

“I told her the truth. That you- you kill him. Your father. Mi esposo! I don't know what came over me,” she said as she cried. “I am so, so sorry. I hurt you, mijo.”

“_Its okay, don’t worry_,” he said blankly, no hint of emotion on his face.

“But you are my child, my son. And I hurt you,” she said remorsefully.

“I forgive you Mama,” Blood said as he rose to his feet, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I forgive you for everything.”

Blood then silently walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Later that light, Maya was lying in bed, praying as she clutched the necklace to her chest. Then, suddenly, she was not alone.

“_The gods are dead_,” the man in the skull mask sneered as he loomed over her.

Maya screamed in terror, the last thing she would ever do.

Starling City

Later

In the Glades, Louis cried out in terror as Oliver fired an arrow, which hit the machinery right next to him.

“The man in the skull mask, where is he?!” Oliver snarled.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Louis exclaimed.

In response, Oliver fired, his arrow hitting the ground, just south of his leg. Louis jumped, terrified.

“He's been experimenting on people in the Glades. He's leaving a trail of corpses with blood running from their eyes,” Oliver growled.

"No, no, no, no, no. I deal in stolen merchandise, that is it!” Louis said desperately.

“Ask him what color his shoes are,” Felicity said over the Comms, giving Oliver pause.

“What?”

“You want this guy to take a polygraph via Bluetooth, cool, but I need to hear him establish a base line. I need to hear him tell the truth at least once,” Felicity explained.

“What color are your shoes?” Oliver asked after a moment.

“What?” Louis stared at him dumbly for a moment before looking down at his shoes. “They’re blue!”

“He’s telling the truth, he doesn’t know anything,” Felicity informed him dejectedly.

Angrily, Oliver turned and stormed out before Louis had even looked up.

Arrow lair

Later

“Sorry man, I thought he might know something,” Roy apologized as Oliver hung his bow up.

“Not your fault Roy. Someone out there has to know something about the man in the skull mask. And I’m gonna find him,” Oliver said darkly.

District Attorney’s office, next day

Morning

Laurel was at her desk, doing some paperwork when Roy walked in.

“You okay? You look tired,” Roy said as he noticed the bags under her eyes.

“Just been a long couple nights. What’s up?” Laurel inquired. “I doubt you just stopped by to say hi.”

“You’re right, I didn’t,” Roy admitted. “Slade’s in town. He has been for a while.”

“What? How do you know?” Laurel asked alarmed.

“That guy who killed your dad’s old partner around Christmas was juiced up on Mirakuru. And Sin, the girl that was staying with Oliver and Thea, was injected to,” Roy explained and Laurel paled. “We’ve been stupid.”

“I think that’s an understatement,” Laurel said with a sigh. “We thought Slade would come out with a bang when he showed up. But he’s been in the shadows, all this time. We were stupid and careless.”

“And he’s not the only one in town we’ve been waiting for,” Roy said, looking uncomfortable as Laurel looked at him oddly. “I probably should have told you this a few weeks ago. Sara’s back in town to.”

“What?” Laurel asked more sharply than she intended and Roy winced.

“Apparently she and Sin are tight. Oliver called her after Christmas and she just showed up in the lair the day after I joined the team. She’s been helping Oliver keep an eye on Sin,” Roy said and Laurel was silent for a few moments.

“Thank you for telling me,” Laurel said lowly and Roy nodded.

“So what are you gonna do now?” Roy asked and she shrugged.

“I don’t know. She’s been in town all this time, clearly she doesn’t want to see me or Dad,” Laurel said quietly.

“I don’t think she doesn’t want to see you, I think she’s just scared you’ll think she’s a monster and reject her. Sometimes, after so long of having no hope…you stay away because feeling pain is preferable to losing the chance of something else,” Roy said gently.

Laurel frowned, considering his words as Roy walked out. A few moments passed until her assistant, Katherine, walked in.

“Ms. Lance? I have a call for you on line two,” she said, breaking Laurel out of her musings.

“Thank you Katherine,” Laurel said politely.

Katherine smiled, walking out as Laurel picked up her phone, patching the call through.

“Laurel Lance.”

“This is nurse Downey from St. Walker's. You asked me to call if there was any changes in Maya Resik's condition. I'm sad to report she passed away,” the nurse said and Laurel nearly dropped the phone in shock.

“What?” Laurel choked out.

“Her heart gave out on her, poor soul,” the nurse said sadly.

Quentin’s apartment

Afternoon

“So you think Sebastian Blood, who could be the next mayor of Starling City, killed his own mother?” Quentin said after Laurel had told him everything.

“I don’t know. But too many things don’t add up. Sebastian Blood was the last person to see her a few days after she told me that he killed his father. And the fact she was in the late stages of heart disease, it would only take a decent shock to make her heart give out. Everyone would just assume that it was natural causes and Blood gets away with murder. A second time if she wasn’t just delusional. I know it sounds crazy,” Laurel told him.

“After our trip through time, ‘crazy’ is no longer a word in my vocabulary,” Quentin said dryly. “But no one is going to take the word of someone committed to an insane asylum seriously.”

“I know. Why do you think I came here instead of going to the DA?” Laurel asked pointedly and Quentin nodded. “What do you think I should do?”

“Well, honestly, there’s not much you can do from a legal standpoint. The cop in me says to just let it go,” Quentin said and Laurel was visibly frustrated. “But the guy who went to the future says that there is another option.”

The Glades

Same time

From a distance, Oliver and Diggle watched from a car as Sin walked the streets towards the clock tower where she lived.

“Has she said anything about the Mirakuru?” Diggle asked Oliver.

“Not to Roy and Thea. And Roy says whenever he brings up what happened at the rally, she shuts him out,” Oliver explained. “She’s not exactly comfortable discussing her feelings.”

“Not like you and me,” Diggle said dryly and Oliver shot him a look.

Oliver then felt his phone vibrate as he received a text. Pulling it out, he frowned as he saw it was Laurel.

‘Meet at my apartment, need to talk. 911.’

Laurel’s apartment

Later in the afternoon

“Laurel?” Oliver opened the door to her apartment as he walked in, finding it unlocked. “What’s…”

He trailed off as he saw a crime board in the middle of the room, various strings of yarn attached to certain pictures. Laurel stood in front of it, looking at it intensely.

“Laurel, what is this?” Oliver asked lowly as he walked up behind her.

“Sebastian Blood,” Laurel said as she pointed to a picture of Blood. “A few weeks ago, Thea and Sin asked for my help looking into the disappearance of Maxwell Stanton, who had gone missing from his blood drive.”

Oliver kept his face blank as he saw the picture of Max that Roy has shown him. Clearly, she’d gotten it from Thea and Sin.

“So what, you’re saying Blood killed him?” Oliver asked.

“I don’t know, but too many things keep piling up. I keep digging, and Blood’s name keeps turning up every time I turn over a stone. For example, Cyrus Gold,” Laurel said as she pointed to a picture of Blood with a man who Oliver realized with a start was the man who had been working the man in the skull mask. “He was the man you fought on Christmas.”

“I recognize him,” Oliver said lowly.

“Well, Gold and Blood knew each other from the orphanage where they grew up. And a few days ago, I went to see his mother, who told me that he killed his father and covered it up, made everyone think she was insane so she wouldn’t believe him. And today, I got a call that she died right after he paid her a visit,” Laurel said as she turned around to face him. “I know how it sounds Ollie; I know I probably sound crazy.”

“I’ve seen crazier,” Oliver said. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m not sure of anything right now Ollie. All I know is that if I’m right, this man is going to be a mayor of Starling City,” Laurel said and Oliver was silent for a moment.

“If you’re right…then I’ll stop him,” Oliver vowed.

“So you believe me?” Laurel asked a weight lifting off her shoulders.

“I believe this is worth investigating,” Oliver said as he walked over to the board, standing next to her as they both looked at it. “Tell me everything you know.”

Starling City

Same time

Slade was drinking a scotch, staring out at the city from his office when the lights flickered before turning off. His eye narrowed as he heard someone enter the room. He calmly turned around in his chair, coming face to face with an Asian woman dressed in black.

“There are five ways I can kill you where you stand before you say a word. You have ten seconds to tell me something that interests me before I open your throat,” Slade said and the woman smirked.

“We have a common enemy Mr. Wilson: Oliver Queen,” Slade raised an eyebrow, silently gesturing for her to go on. “Like you, I wish to make him suffer.”

“Sit down,” Slade after a moment, a smirk crossing his face. “I believe there is much we have to discuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being of a clearer head than in canon, Laurel realizes that the word of someone in an insane asylum should not just be taken like the word of God, but this is still being taken seriously due to the severity of the accusations. Whether that makes a difference, well, you’ll see.
> 
> And now Slade and Emiko have met. Up to now, the ripples in the timeline have been pretty positive, minus Emiko going after Oliver a lot sooner. But coming up, you’re going to see some of the more negative ripples.


	29. A new partnership

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Team Arrow investigates Laurel's claims, tension mounts between Oliver and Diggle. Moira is approached with a surprising offer.

Arrow lair  
Night

Oliver, Roy, Diggle and Felicity stood in the lair. Oliver had his noise buried in a file Laurel had given him as Felicity brought up all the information she had managed to gather.

“Laurel was right. I hacked Blood's cell phone records. The alderman and Gold have stayed buddies since Zandia orphanage,” Felicity told them.

"So what? They kept in touch. Doesn't exactly mean that Sebastian Blood is the man in the skull mask,” Diggle argued.

“His last name is Blood, that can’t be a good sign,” Felicity pointed out.

"Felicity, he's dedicated his life, risked his life to help the people of the Glades. And in his spare time, he's a murderer trying to create an army of human weapons?" Diggle said incredulously.

“Last year, Malcolm Merlyn got the Humanitarian award because all anyone saw was a CEO, not a psychopath who wanted to wipe out the people in The Glades,” Roy pointed out. “Dig, have you not been paying attention?”

All conversion stopped as Oliver closed the folder and to his feet.

“Laurel gave me a case number to start with. We need to know if the alderman really killed his father, then we figure out if there's a chance he has the Mirakuru formula,” Oliver ordered as he handed Felicity the file.

“I’m on it,” Felicity said with a nod.

“Where do you want me?” Roy asked.

“Take the night off,” Oliver said and Roy opened his mouth to protest. “Roy, there’s nothing you can do right now until we know more. Go out, take some time to relax, and I will call you as soon as we know more.”

Roy wanted to argue, but he could see from Oliver’s face that it wouldn’t do him any good. Pick your battles, Roy told himself as he turned and walked out. Oliver waited until Roy was gone until he turned to face Diggle.

“Something you want to say John?”

“Would you be so willing to believe this Intel if it came from anyone but Laurel?” Diggle finally said and Oliver stared at him incredulously.

“Eager? You think I’m eager? I am looking at the facts, looking into this before I rule it out. Would you be so willing to dismiss it if it hadn’t come from Laurel?” Oliver challenged and Diggle was silent. “This isn’t about Blood or the man in the skull mask; this is about Edward Rasmus and Deadshot. I chose a child’s future over your vendetta and I am done apologizing for it. Get over it or get out.”

Oliver then turned and followed Roy out, leaving Diggle to consider his words.

Starling City  
Same time

In her clock tower, Sin held a knife over her wrist before bring it down. She made a clean cut and watched in fascination as it healed within seconds.

“Holy crap,” she muttered.

Queen Mansion  
Later

“Oliver,” Moira said surprised as she met Oliver in the hallway. “I didn’t expect to see you home so soon tonight.”

“It’s a slow night,” Oliver said as he eyed her attire, which was something she’d usually wear to a gala. “Going out?”

“Yes. With Walter,” Moira said and Oliver’s eyebrows shot up into his hair. 

“Like a date?”

“Like a dinner. Are you alright with that?” Moira asked carefully, knowing his issues with Walter when he had first retuned. 

“Walter’s a good man Mom. You deserve something good in your life,” Oliver said as he kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t stay out too late.”

“I’m not even sure where the night will lead. Don’t tell your sister about this until after I talk with you,” Moira pleaded.

Oliver nodded, knowing Thea would only get her hopes up for a reconciliation between their mother and Walter. Moira smiled before walking out of the room. Less than five seconds later, Oliver’s phone started buzzing. Pulling it out, he saw it was Felicity and answered.

“I have good news and bad news,” Felicity said in greeting. “Suggest the good news first; it tends to soften the blow of the bad news.”

“Felicity,” Oliver said annoyed.

“Alright, dealer’s choice. Good news is we found the case file on Sebastian's dad's murder,” Felicity.

"Anything in it to suggest he killed him?" Oliver asked.

“Well, that’s the bad news: the file was sealed years ago. And since the file is over twenty seven years old, there’s not a digital copy for me to hack,” Felicity said regretfully. “The only hard copy is stored the old-fashioned way in the city archives."

“So I go in and take it the old fashion way,” Oliver said, not seeing the problem.

“Except security in the file room is so old school, you need a key card to get in. Which, even if you had, you wouldn't know where to start looking for the file,” Felicity pointed out.

“An Assistant DA would,” Oliver said lowly.

Starling City  
Later

At the restaurant, Moira walked over to a table, smiling as she saw Walter already sitting down.

“Moira,” Walter said as he got to his feet.

It was at that point that Moira saw that he was not alone. A dark haired man who had been sitting across from Walter got to his feet as well. So not a date after all, Moira realized with some disappointment. 

“I didn’t realize we’d have company,” Moira said giving no hint to her true feelings.

“This is Mark Frances. Mark's CFO at Kardak Holdings. We've been putting in some hours with the party's election steering committee,” Walter explained.

“I see,” Moira said, not expecting the rather abrupt change in conversation.

“It's a pleasure to meet you." Mark said as he held out his hand.

“Those are words I'm not accustomed to hearing these days,” Moira said as she shook his hand.

Moira then removed her coat and handed it to Walter. He hung it on a rack before pulling out her chair. Walter clearly had an agenda for this, but if he had forgotten who he was dealing with, well, she would remind him, Moira thought as she sat down.

“You were a lioness doing what she had to do to protect her cubs. You know, I'm not the only person in Starling who sees it that way,” Mark said as they all sat down.

"That's a comfort,” Moira said honestly.

“It’s the truth,” Mark said.

“It’s unlike you to show such an interest in politics,” Moira noted as she looked over at Walter.

“It's part of my new position at the Starling National Bank. My Board of Directors is very concerned about the trajectory of the city,” Walter explained.

“You mean Sebastian Blood,” Moira realized.

“Yeah. We believe that his policies will bankrupt Starling within the next eight months. Not that the average voter cares. They're all caught up in his charisma,” Mark broke it down for her.

“And he’s not running against a viable candidate,” Moira noted as she took a sip of water.

"Blood's trounced every potential candidate we've focus-tested,” Walter admitted.

“But we believe that he's vulnerable on regulation,” Mark said.

"Even if he is, it hardly matters. Banking regulations are an SEC issue. Starling City needs to use the means at a city's disposal,” Moira said and noticed the two men exchanging smiles.

“Walter said you were smart,” Mark said with a grin and it hit Moira what this was about.

“But you didn't invite me to dinner to hear my opinions. You want to hear my positions. You want me to run against Sebastian Blood,” Moira realized in shock.

Arrow lair  
Same time

“This is insane,” Felicity was telling Diggle as Sara entered the lair.

“He doesn’t see straight when it comes to her,” Diggle said disgruntled.

“What are you two talking about?” Sara asked and the pair whirled around.

“Heeey Sara,” Felicity said awkwardly, which immediately put Sara on edge.

“What’s happening? Where’s Ollie?” Sara demanded.

Starling City  
Same time

On the roof of the Department of the Records, Oliver and Laurel walked over to an access hatch. Oliver fired an arrow at it, blowing off the lid.

“You ready for this?” Oliver asked.

“Do I have a choice?” Laurel muttered.

Nodding, Oliver tapped the Comms pierce in his suit.

“We’re going in.”

“At least the security cameras are from this century,” Felicity muttered. “Aaaand now they’re toast. You have exactly seven minutes until the system reboots."

After entering through the hatch, Oliver and Laurel made their way to the main records room. Laurel used her card to unlock the door and pushed it open. They entered the room and found dozens of shelves with dozens of boxes of files.

“This could take a while,” Laurel muttered.

“We don’t have a while. We need to move, fast,” Oliver said sharply.

“May not be possible,” Laurel said as she began looking through the shelves as fast as she could.

“Oliver,” Felicity said over the Comms.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as he passed a security camera.

“It looks we've got the one rent-a-cop with a brain here. If there's a camera nearby, I recommend hiding,” Felicity told him urgently.

Oliver paled and jumped out of view but it was too late.

“Starling's finest will be there any minute. You need to get out of there now,” Felicity said urgently.

“We’re not leaving without the file,” Oliver said as he turned to Laurel, who was going through a box. “Laurel.”

“I can’t find it,” Laurel said as she rushed back up the ladder, looking through the boxes desperately.

Oliver growled as he waked towards the door, knowing time was of the essence.

“Oliver, hurry,” Felicity said desperately over the Comms.

“Wait! Case number SC43878! This is it!” Laurel cried as she found the file.

She pulled it out of the box just as the door burst open and a SWAT team entered.

"Vigilante, we know you're here!" the lead officer said as they swarmed the room. “Close everything off, now!"

“They're blocking our only way out!" Laurel said as Oliver began leading her away.

"It's not our only way. Get to the east wall and wait for me,” Oliver ordered.

Laurel didn’t want to leave him but she knew she would be more liability than help. So she turned and raced towards the east wall as Oliver rounded a corner, coming face to face with a wall of officers. 

"Drop your weapon!" one of them ordered.

Oliver fired an arrow, which went off with a bright flash, blinding the officers. Oliver then raced away, dodging the barrage of bullets that followed him. He reached the shelf leading to the east wall and fired an arrow. It flew right past Laurel and shattered the window. Oliver raced towards the window, grabbed Laurel, and jumped. Using the line attached to the arrow he had shot off, he glided them both to the ground, where they landed safely on the street below. 

“You alright?” Oliver asked as he let her go.

“No,” Laurel as she opened the file and paled. “It’s empty.”

Oliver looked over and saw she right. There was nothing in the file.

Arrow lair  
Later

“I tried going through all the security footage at the city archives to see if anyone swiped the file over the last few days,” Felicity said as she, Oliver, Sara, Roy and Diggle stood by the computers.

“What did you find?” Oliver asked.

“Well, this,” Felicity said as she pulled up the video.

The video she pulled up showed the file room but, after a moment, the video was filled with static. 

"It's all been erased,” Felicity said sadly.

"So what happened when you reversed the footprint to see who hacked in before you?" Oliver asked.

“I struck out again. It must have been an inside job,” Felicity said.

“As an alderman, Blood would have access to the city records,” Roy noted.

“Anyone on the city payroll could done this,” Diggle argued.

“And what would be their motive? And if there was nothing to even hint that Blood had something to do with this, why would they even bother?” Sara asked and could see the frustration on Diggle’s face. “And why do I get the feeling that you would rather Laurel be wrong about this Dig for more than just wanting Blood to be innocent?”

“You want to tell them John or should I?” Oliver asked after a moment of Diggle being silent.

“Last year, the man who killed my brother was in town,” Diggle said finally. “Oliver promised to kill him, but when the time came, he bailed in order to help your sister.”

“Well, that’s not quite accurate,” Oliver said as Sara and Roy looked at him. “Two of Laurel’s clients had been killed by a hitman. Their son, the only witness, was a target. The man who put out the hit was trying to flee the country when this was going down.”

“So…you’re still made that Oliver chose to save a child’s life instead of helping you get your revenge?” Sara asked blankly as she looked over at Diggle, who was silent.

“He thinks that I allow my relationship with Laurel to cloud my judgment. But I’m gonna tell you something I’ve never told you John,” Oliver said as he walked over to Diggle until they were face to face. “If Laurel had not been involved, I would still make the same choice in a heartbeat. What we do here isn’t about stopping the bad guys; it’s about protecting the people in our city, making sure they are safe. If you haven’t figured that by now…why am I wasting my time with you?”

“So what do we do now?” Felicity asked after a moment but Oliver had no answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diggle in the first two seasons, outside a few instances, was Diggle at his best. But this episode he was just downright pathetic. He’s so convinced that Oliver allows his feelings for Laurel to cloud his judgement (because there is apparently no other reason Oliver could have chosen to prioritize a child’s future over his vendetta) that he forgets that before he was exposed as a psycho mass murderer, Malcolm Merlyn of all people got the humanitarian award. 
> 
> The entire episode was basically building towards Oliver having this ‘blind spot’ for Laurel but it doesn’t hold much weight. Oliver didn’t take Laurel’s word at face value; he was as objective as he possibly could have been. He didn’t outright condemn Blood, but he didn’t just dismiss Laurel's clams either. He followed the evidence and saw where it led. Diggle threw this big temper tantrum over Oliver considering Laurel’s theory, but Oliver would have been a moron to just throw this out without considering it.
> 
> Objectively, does Oliver have a blind spot for Laurel? Honestly, probably. But he has never let it affect his decisions. We’ve seen Oliver having a blind spot and allowing it to affect his decisions, with Moira in season one, how he refused to even consider her involvement in The Undertaking. The comparison is pretty clear to say with certainty that Oliver does not allow his feelings for Laurel to cloud his judgement, despite what Diggle may have to say on the subject.
> 
> Moira’s mayor plot is going to start a little earlier due to something that will happen next chapter.


	30. The end of Brother Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blood makes a desperate gamble to discredit Laurel, leading to a deadly confrontation with Oliver and Sara. Moira considers Walter's offer.

The Glades  
Morning

Roy walked up the steps of the staircase leading to the top floor of the clock tower where Sin lived. As he reached the top, he paused, taking in the sight.

Sin was pacing back and force, a cinder block in front of her.

“Sin?” Roy called out.

“I didn’t know where else to go,” Sin said, confusing Oliver. “I need to show you something.”

Before Roy could ask what, Sin whirled around and punched the cinder block. The force of her punch completely destroyed the cinder block, reducing the middle to disk and leaving two small ends as the rubble. Roy immediately ran to her side and grabbed her wrist, not at all surprised to see she wasn’t injured.

“How are you not bleeding?” Roy asked, keeping up the act that he had no clue what was going on.

“I was right about Max, he didn’t OD. He was injected with something and the people who did it injected me with it to. But it didn’t kill me; it made me, I don’t know, stronger. I saved some kids from a metal tower at Blood’s Rally a few nights ago and I pushed it off my back like it was nothing. And I heal fast, like comic book fast,” Sin said in a rush.

“Who else knows?” Roy asked after a moment.

“Just you. I wasn’t sure who to trust. I don’t know what’s happening to me Roy,” Sin said and he could see the fear in her eyes.

Silently, Roy pulled her into a hug and Sin clung to him, like a frightened child clinging to a parent for comfort.

“We’ll figure this out, I promise,” Roy said genuinely. 

Queen Mansion  
Afternoon

Moira was in the sitting room when Walter walked in behind her.

"Can I fix you a drink?" Moira asked, ever the hostess.

“Whatever you’re having,” he said and she handed him her glass before pouring her own. “It was good to see you last night Moira.”

“It was lovely. It's been a while since I've had such a good laugh,” Moira said before taking a sip of her drink.

“It was no joke. Mark was telling the truth. A significant number of people in Starling City feel that your actions with Malcolm Merlyn were justified to protect your family. 43.6%, in fact,” Walter said as he sat down on the couch.

"You polled people about me?" Moira asked surprised.

"Prudent course of action when vetting a potential candidate, yes,” Walter said.

“Six hundred thousand people in Starling City. I'd think you could find someone not responsible for destroying it with an earthquake machine,” Moira said sarcastically as she joined him on the couch.

“Not with your name recognition. We need a game change candidate, Moira. And there's no one in Starling with a higher profile than you," Walter argued.

“Charles Manson is rather well-known, and no one is going to vote for him,” Moira shot back.

“True. Equally true, voters like redemption stories. Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, Martha Stewart,” Walter listed.

“I don’t believe she ran for office,” Moira noted.

“If she did, she would have won,” Walter said as Oliver walked in.

"Would have won what?" he asked.

“Oliver,” Walter greeted pleasantly as he got to his feet. “Good to see you. How goes Queen Consolidated?” 

“It’s going. What’s going on?” Oliver asked, feeling like he had just walked into something.

“I’m trying to convince your mother to run for mayor,” Walter explained, taking Oliver back.

“I know, it’s a bad idea,” Moira, misinterpreting his response.

“Actually, I disagree,” Oliver said, surprising Moira. “Mom, with everything this city going through right now, it could use someone fighting for it.”

“I believe fighting for this city is what the Vigilante does,” Moira pointed out.

“He protects it, there’s a difference. He can’t inspire people, he can’t give them hope. You can…in a way that he never can,” Oliver said gently as Moira looked at him blankly. “I have faith in you Mom.”

Blood’s Campaign office  
Night

Blood was in his office, packing up to go home when a voice spoke up behind him.

"Point blank range,” Blood whirled around, seeing Slade sitting at his desk, reading a file. 

But it wasn’t just a file, Blood realized with dread. It was the police report from his father’s murder.

“Single shot to the heart from a low angle. Obviously the handiwork of someone quite scared, and very small," Slade noted as he laid the file on Blood’s desk. "How come the police didn't arrest you?"

“I knew how to cover my tracks,” Blood said simply, no sign of the fear he felt in his voice.

“A skill you’ve obviously lost since you’ve gotten bigger,” Slade said scornfully and Blood winced. “Do you know how close you came to allowing the Vigilante to destroy everything?"

“Someone spoke out of turn. I’ve taken care of the problem,” Blood said.

“Your mother was not our problem,” Slade sneered as he rose to his feet and walked around the desk. “Laurel Lance is.”

“You were the one who told me to try to get close to her,” Blood argued.

“And your sloppy attempts to do so have nearly unraveled everything. You underestimated her; she is not like the many others who have fallen under your spell. Fix this,” Slade said before grabbing Blood’s tie and yanking on it, choking Blood as he pinned him to the top of the doorframe. “You do not want me to fix it for you.”

Slade let Blood go and fell back to the ground, gasping for breath. Slade walked out of the office and Blood scrambled for his phone.

“Brother Daily. I need you to take care of something for me."

Arrow lair  
Later

“So, your mom is planning on running for mayor?” Felicity asked as Oliver told them the news.

“She’s thinking about it,” Oliver corrected.

“Well, I think Hell has officially frozen over,” Diggle said and Oliver shot him a look and Roy walked in.

“Hey, I need to talk to you guys,” Roy said before Oliver’s phone rang.

“Hold on one second,” Oliver said as he was it was Quentin and answered. “What is it Detective?... What?! Okay, I’ll be right there.”

“Ollie, what is it?” Sara asked as they saw the look on his face.

“Laurel was just arrested,” Oliver said to their shock.

Starling City Police Department  
Not long after

Laurel was in the interrogation room, handcuffed to the table when the door opened and Pike walked in.

“Lieutenant, would you mind explaining to me why I’m here?” Laurel demanded.

“You’re being charged with aiding and abetting the vigilante,” Pike said.

“From last year? I thought I wasn’t being charged with anything,” Laurel said confused.

“No, this is very recent,” Pike said, pulling out a photo of her and Oliver, as The Hood, from last night. “Traffic camera caught that last night, seconds after the department of City Records was robbed by the Vigilante. Care to explain that?” 

Laurel paled but was silent. They had her on camera with Oliver, and her dad couldn’t cover it up this time. She didn’t need to be a lawyer to realize that this was bad.

Before Pike could say anything else, the door opened and Pike and Laurel looked over to see Oliver entering the room.

“Laurel, don’t say anything,” Oliver ordered.

“Mr. Queen, I’m in the middle of an interrogation,” Pike said as he faced Oliver.

“Yeah, and she has no lawyer present. Until she does, this is over,” Oliver said in a tone that left no room for argument. 

“Fine,” Pike said, looking unsatisfied. “I guess the last name ‘Queen’ still has some merit.”

Pike walked out of the room without another word. Oliver walked over to the table and picked the picture of them and was silent for a few moments.

“What can I do Laurel?” Oliver finally asked.

“Short of proving my theory…I don’t think there is anything you can do,” Laurel with a weak smile.

Arrow lair  
Same time

“So, the cops just happened to find that traffic cam footage?” Felicity said doubtfully.

“It’s too convenient,” Oliver agreed as he paced back and forth. “It took Detective Lance days to find the footage of me finding that bag I planted to throw everyone off my trail. That a cop who is nowhere near his level could find it in less than twenty four hours is next to impossible.”

“So you think Laurel’s being set up?” Sara asked.

“I don’t know. But something is not right here,” Oliver muttered.

Starling City Police Department  
Same time

Laurel was in a holding cell when she heard a noise outside the cell. She lifted her head as the lights went out. She got to her feet, looking around in confusion before she heard the door to the cell open. She turned around only to be grabbed, a gag pressed over her mouth as she attempted to scream. She was dragged out of the cell as a man in a skull mask stepped into view.

“Hello Laurel,” he said as she tried to scream.

Arrow lair  
Not long after

Oliver’s phone rang and he pulled it out and, seeing it was Quentin once more, answered.

“Has there been an update?” Oliver asked immediately.

“Laurel’s gone!” Quentin said urgently.

“What do you mean gone?” Oliver asked as he got to his feet, Sara looking at him sharply.

“I went to check on her and the holding cell was empty. Someone took her,” Quentin said in a rush.

Starling City Police Department  
Same time

“And I think I have a pretty good idea where,” Quentin said as he stared at the wall, which had the words ‘tell the vigilante Starling Cannery’ painted on it in red.

Starling Cannery  
Not long after

Laurel’s eyes snapped open, dazed and disoriented. She was on the floor of wherever she was. She pulled herself to her feet her, vision blurring for a moment before it focused. She started walking through the building, pausing as she saw a shadow on the other side of a gate.

The man in the skull mask.

“Is that mask supposed to scare me?” Laurel demanded as she rounded a corner but, to her shock, he was gone.

“Thirty-thousand years ago masks invested their wearer with authority, like a god,” the masked man’s voice said, seeming to come from everywhere.

“You’re insane,” Laurel said as she looked around wildly. “You are no god.”

“But I am worshiped by hundreds. I am the closest thing to a god this city has,” his voice said, echoing from everywhere.

Suddenly, he lunged out from the shadows, pulling Laurel into a chokehold before she could even react. As she gasped for breath, an arrow flew out and hit a pipe near them. The masked man looked up to see Oliver aiming an arrow at him.

“LET. HER. GO!” Oliver snarled. “You wanted me, I’m right here.”

“No,” the masked man said as he threw Laurel to the ground before pulling out a gun. “I think she should witness this.”

Before he could take a shot, a loud, sonic screech pierced the air. The masked man tried holding his ears as all the glass in the building shattered. Suddenly, Sara was there, whirling her baton. She stuck him in the abdomen and he dropped the gun. He tried fighting back but it wasn’t much of a fight. Within seconds, she had him on his knees, her baton against his neck. With a twist, there was a sickening crack and she felt his body fall to the floor.

Laurel got to her feet, staring at the masked woman. Although she couldn’t see her face, she could see her eyes clearly. Eyes she knew almost as well as her own. As the woman looked up at her, there was little doubt in Laurel’s mind who this was.

“Sara,” Laurel said and Sara froze. “It’s you, isn’t it?” 

Sara was silent, looking like a deer caught in the headlights as Laurel approached. After a moment of indecision, Sara, with shaking hands, removed her wig and mask so Laurel could see her clearly.

“Laurel…” Sara trailed not sure what to say.

But it seemed she didn’t have to say anything. Emotionally, Laurel grabbed Sara and pulled her into a hug. After a moment, Sara returned her hug with shaking hands.

After watched them silently for a few moments, Oliver looked towards the body of the masked man. He jumped down and made his over, Kneeling down; he removed the man’s mask to reveal the face of Officer Daily. 

Starling City Police Department  
Later

“How long has she been in town?” Laurel asked Oliver as they sat in the squad room of the precinct.

“Since before I came back. She left before the trial, then came back after Christmas. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Oliver apologized.

“It’s okay, she wanted you to keep quiet. It can’t have been easy for you, keeping her a secret,” Laurel said and Oliver let out a humorless laugh.

“No, it wasn’t,” Oliver admitted and a comfortable silent settled over them for a moment. 

“I was so sure it was Blood,” Laurel said after a moment.

“It still might be,” Oliver said and she looked at him oddly. “There was no reason for the man in the skull mask to target you. You were already discredited for associating with a mass murderer and aiding and abetting him, not to mention breaking and entering and theft. There was little chance of someone believing you. There was no reason for him to come after you.”

“Unless Daily was just the scapegoat,” Laurel realized.

“It’s just a theory. But either way, I’m going to keep a closer eye on Blood from now on. Let me worry about him, alright?” Oliver said as he looked over at her.

With a sigh, she nodded as Quentin rushed in.

“Laurel, are you alright?” Quentin asked as he began checking her over.

“I’m fine Dad, just a few bumps and brises,” Laurel said with a weak smile.

Oliver silently stood up, walking away in order to give them some privacy. He met Lieutenant Pike near the entrance.

“How is she?” Pike asked as he looked over at Laurel and Quentin.

“Shaken up, but alright,” Oliver said. “We need to talk Lieutenant. You’re not gonna be charging Laurel with anything.”

“Is that right?” Pike asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Not unless you want me to launch a lawsuit over how Laurel’s life was put in danger because the SCPD failed to realize that one of their own was a serial killer. Or how none of you realized he had kidnapped Laure l from within your precinct. As you said, the last name ‘Queen’ still has some pull in Starling City,” Oliver said pointedly and Pike regarded Oliver silently.

“Alright, I’ll drop the charges. But be careful Mr. Queen, even you can’t protect her from the consequences of her actions forever,” Pike said before walking off.

Arrow lair  
Later

“So Laurel was wrong,” Diggle noted as he, Oliver, Felicity, Sara and Roy stood in the lair.

“Maybe…but either way, I wasn’t wrong for looking into this,” Oliver said as he looked over at Diggle. “Tell me John, are you gonna wanna dismiss evidence every time Laurel brings me Intel? If that’s the case, we will have a problem.”

“I still think you have a blind spot when it comes Laurel…but I won’t let my personal feelings on the subject get in the way again. I’ll work on it,” Diggle promised and Oliver nodded.

“Good,” Oliver said before looking over at Roy. “Earlier, you said you had something to tell us?”

“Sin, earlier today she finally told me about the Mirakuru,” Roy said and four pairs of eyes turned towards him. “She’s freaked out guys; I’ve never seen her like this. I don’t know how to help her.”

“I think I know someone who can,” Oliver said as he looked at Sara pointedly.

The clock tower  
Later

Sin was at the clock tower, sleeping when she heard footsteps. Opening her eyes, she pulled out a knife and got up. Walking forward, she suddenly whirled and nearly stabbed Sara. Sara sidestepping her was the only thing that saved her life.

“Sara,” Sin breathed, shaking. “I almost killed you.”

“That kind of instinct will keep you alive. But how much of that was instinct and how much is the serum you were injected with?” Sara asked and Sin lowered the knife in shock.

“You know?” Sin asked stunned and Sara nodded.

“I’ve seen it before. It makes you stronger, but twists your mind. Makes you into something you’re not,” Sara said.

“I don’t know what to do Sara. I’m scared,” Sin admitted, her voice shaking.

“You should be. But I’m gonna help. I promise that I will be there every step of the way until you don’t need me to be,” Sara said as she placed a hand on Sin’s shoulder.

Starling City  
Same time

Blood walked into Slade’s office, escorted by three bodyguards. Slade was at his desk looking at something.

“It's done. They think it was all Daily. He sacrificed himself for our cause,” Blood explained.

“A good start, but it is too late for that now,” Slade said and Blood stiffened. “You are sloppy. I’ve waited too long for this for you to ruin it. I’ve decided to back another horse, so to speak.”

An arrow suddenly flew out and struck one of Blood’s bodyguards in the chest, killing him instantly. Blood looked around wildly as two more arrows flew out, one getting one of his bodyguard’s in the throat with the other got one in the chest, killing both. Someone dressed in a suit nearly identically to the one Oliver used jumped down before firing at Blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laurel and Sara have officially been reunited. Was planning to do that for a few chapters but it just never worked out.
> 
> And more proof of 2x11 being used to alienate Oliver from Laurel, no one questions just how convenient the frame job of Daily is. If Blood was not the man in the skull mask, it makes no sense as to why he would target Laurel, especially if she’s been discredited by exposing her substance abuse problem. Yet, for some reason, Oliver never questions this. This from the guy who very quickly saw through Barry and Thawne. Right.
> 
> And we’ve reached our first true negative ripple with Blood being killed by Emiko as she and Slade become allies. This will have some pretty serious consequences over the next few chapters.


	31. Framed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Team Arrow attempt to track down Emiko as they face the fallout of Blood's murder.

Queen Mansion  
Morning

Oliver walked out of his bathroom, dressed only in a towel when he heard his phone ring. Walking over to his desk, where it was still plugged in, he picked it up and saw Felicity’s image flashing across the screen.

“What is it?” Oliver asked as he answered.

“Have you seen the news this morning?” Felicity asked in a panic and Oliver frowned.

“No. Why, what’s wrong?” Oliver inquired.

“Turn it on,” Felicity said in a voice that had him on edge.

Oliver picked up the remote to his TV and turned it on. By chance, it was already on a news station and a news caster was giving a report. Oliver’s blood ran cold as he read the caption ‘Blood killed by Starling Vigilante?’ on the screen. 

“Early this morning, Sebastian Blood’s body was found in his campaign office. The murder weapon was an arrow to the heart. Reports say that Blood and the vigilante had an altercation earlier in the week in which the vigilante threatened Mr. Blood,” the news caster said. “Starling City Police refused to comment on whether the vigilante was a suspect or not.” 

“It looks like your evil sister is back and she just made you the SCPD’s most wanted,” Felicity said in a rush. 

“She’s done more than that…she’s made the vigilante public enemy number one,” Oliver muttered.

Starling City Police Department  
Same time

Quentin stood in the Squad room with every other officer in the precinct, all of them facing Pike as he addressed them. 

“As I’m sure all of you know, Sebastian Blood was found dead in his campaign office earlier this morning. The Coroner’s office is still examining the body, but the murder weapon was an arrow,” Pike explained. “According to members of Mr. Blood’s staff, there was an altercation between Blood and the vigilante earlier in the week following Blood’s Unity Rally. As of right now, the vigilante is the prime suspect in Blood’s murder. DA Spencer will be issuing an arrest warrant for him later today. If you see him, do not engage without backup. I don’t think I need to remind you all that he is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous.”

As the officers began walking out of the room, Quentin had an uneasy feeling in his stomach. It was obvious that Emiko was setting Oliver up. And she was doing a pretty good job of it.

Arrow lair  
Later in the afternoon

“So, your sister goes dark for months, and then frames you for murder? Why?” Diggle asked as he, Oliver, Felicity and Roy stood in the lair, a news report on Blood’s murder playing on the computer.

“Because she hates me,” Oliver said bluntly. “From what my mom told me, Emiko’s mother was unstable. Growing up in that kind of environment, it seems Emiko came to hate me as much as her mother did.”

“But why kill Blood of all people?” Felicity wondered.

“Fastest way to get people to turn on the vigilante, kill Starling’s favorite son,” Roy pointed out and Oliver nodded in agreement.

“Roy’s right, she saw an opportunity and took it. And my visit to the Alderman certainly helped matters in her favor,” Oliver noted. 

“So what do we do?” Felicity asked.

“Roy, hit the streets, see if you can find anything out. Felicity, keep an open channel with the rest of us, Quentin Lance may contact you, keep me updated. John, come with me, I have some of my own contacts I want to check out,” Oliver ordered.

“What about Sara?” Diggle asked.

“Sara’s handling another problem,” Oliver said as he and Roy exchange grim looks.

The Glades  
Same time

In a warehouse, Sara and Sin were exchanging blows with wooden Bo staffs when Sara suddenly struck out with hers, delivering a well-aimed strike to Sin’s feet. Sin swayed before angrily trying to strike Sara. Sara brought up her staff to block but the force of Sin’s strength broke both staffs and Sara as sent flying across the room, to Sin’s shock. Sara hit the wall back first but was otherwise unharmed.

“And that is why we didn’t use metal,” Sara said as she got to her feet.

“I’m sorry, I-” Sin started.

“It’s okay, this is gonna take some getting used to,” Sara assured her. “What’s happened to you, it made you powerful. But if you can’t learn to control that power, you’ll be a threat to everyone around you.”

“You talk like you’ve seen this before,” Sin noted and Sara was silent for a moment.

“Five years ago, I encountered a man with the same abilities. He was injected with the same thing you were,” Sara finally admitted.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Sin demanded angrily.

“Because I didn’t want to scare you. The serum twisted his mind until he was unrecognizable to the people closest to him. And eventually he had to be put down,” Sara explained.

“Oh,” Sin said in a small voice that made Sara realize just how young she was.

“Hey,” Sara walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I am not gonna let that happen to you, I promise.”

Queen Mansion  
Not long after

“What happened to Sebastian Blood was a tragedy, but I don’t see what it has to do with me,” Moira said as she sat down across from Pike in the sitting room.

“You have to admit, it’s awfully convenient that Mr. Blood meets an unfortunate end right around the time you plan on announcing your plan to run for mayor,” Pike pointed out.

“And I’m sure this has nothing to do with how the city feels about me,” Moira said sarcastically.

“Well, considering what happened with Unidac Industries, you understand our concerns,” Pike pointed out.

“What I understand is you coming to me with a baseless accusation. I’ll make this easy for you: I had nothing to do with Sebastian Blood’s death. Unless you have any further questions, please leave,” Moira said managing to keep her tone both angry and profession.

Pike nodded before rising and walking out of the sitting room. Once he was gone, Thea walked in.

“So, do we need a lawyer?” Thea asked.

“No. The SCPD were just ruling me out, it does look suspicious,” Moira admitted with a sigh. “I just hope your brother can put a stop to Emiko’s madness soon.”

Garage  
Later in the afternoon

Oliver and Diggle walked into the garage and all movement stopped. Apparently, Oliver’s role in Alexi’s death was neither forgotten nor forgiven; given the looks the Bratva members were giving him and Diggle.

“How may I help you brother?” the new leader as he walked over, barely managing to keep his voice civil.

“The copycat archer, the one who killed Sebastian Blood. I want them found,” Oliver said, not beating around the bush. “I know you have the resources to point me in the right direction.”

“You know how things work around here,” the leader pointed out and Oliver nodded.

“Whatever you need, I’ll do it,” Oliver promised and the leader smiled.

“Good. I hope you still feel that way,” the leader said as Oliver got the feeling he was going to hate whatever this ‘favor’ was. “Because a man with your abilities should use them for the right reasons. And I know just the thing.”

Starling City  
Same time

“Congratulations,” Slade greeted Emiko as she walked into his office. “Your plan to frame Oliver for the Alderman’s death went perfectly.”

“The police have always been looking for an excuse to crucify Oliver, it was no difficult task. What do you want?” Emiko asked and Slade smirked.

“I like you, you don’t bother with false pleasantries. I think it’s time you begin honoring our alliance,” Slade, picking up a file and sliding it across his desk. “My plan has a final step, months from now. I need that to make it happen.”

Emiko picked up the file and opened it. As she did, her eyes widened in surprise.

“You realize what this could do?” Emiko asked as she looked up at Slade.

“Yes. Can you get it?” Slade asked pointedly.

“Give me twenty four hours and I’ll have it for you,” Emiko promised. 

Arrow lair  
Night

“Are you sure about this Oliver? The city is already feeling like you’re the bad guy in all this. Doing this might make it worse,” Diggle pointed out.

“They already think I killed Sebastian Blood. There is nothing that can make this situation worse,” Oliver said, grabbing his bow as Roy walked in.

“What’s going on?” Roy inquired, sensing the tension in the room.

“Oh, Oliver’s gonna go rob an architect for the Bratva,” Felicity muttered, taking Roy back.

“Um, what?” Roy asked confused.

“The Bratva has resources we can use to locate Emiko. But they want me to take the plans for some building first,” Oliver explained.

“This has bad idea written all over it,” Felicity voiced her displeasure with this course of action.

“Maybe, but my leads were all dead ends. Anyone have any better ideas on how to find Emiko?” Roy asked and the other two were silent. “Then it looks like the Bratva is our best option right now.”

“We have no other options. So for now, we go with the Bratva,” Oliver said in a voice that left no room for argument.

Starling City  
Later

Oliver, dressed in his sit, entered the home of the architect. As he made his way further into the home, his hair stood on end. It was quiet, too quiet. He rounded the corner and saw the architect, Ted Mosby, on the floor, an arrow sticking out of him. Oliver quickly rushed over, lifting him into his arms.

“Come on, let’s get you to a hospital,” Oliver said.

“Forget about me. You have to stop them,” Mosby muttered weakly.

“Who?” Oliver asked confused.

“The Ninth Circle,” Mosby muttered before he took his last breath, leaving Oliver staring down at him as he wondered what the Ninth Circle was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With Turner dead, I had to get creative for 2x12. And this also allowed me to start the Ninth Circle plot. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed the How I met your Mother reference.


	32. The Ninth Circle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow learns of a new threat as Oliver wrestles with his feelings on Emiko.

Arrow lair  
Night

“What’s up? You sounded urgent on the phone,” Sara said as she entered the lair, finding Oliver, Diggle, Felicity and Roy standing by the computers.

“We’ve got a problem. Another problem,” Oliver said as Sara joined them by the computers.

“Oliver went to the Bratva for help locating Emiko, they told him to go rob an architect, Ted Mosby,” Felicity said as she pulled up a photo of Mosby on the computer.

“But Emiko got there first. The place was ransacked and, before he died, Mosby told me to stop something called the Ninth Circle,” Oliver said and Sara started.

“The Ninth Circle, you’re sure that’s what he said?” Sara asked in alarm as everyone looked at her oddly.

“Yeah. You know something about them?” Oliver inquired and she nodded.

“They’re sort of like the League except instead of being a group of assassins; they’re a group of anarchist terrorists. War of the Roses, the French Revolution, you look back at history and find a point where a Regime fell, The Ninth Circle was there, pulling the strings, manipulating events from afar. Ra’s al Ghul has been trying to take them down for decades, but they’re elusive,” Sara explained.

“And now they’re in Starling City, great,” Roy said sarcastically.

“Any idea what Emiko wanted from Mosby?” Sara asked.

“Yeah actually. She took some of his blueprints, including the plans for Malcolm Merlyn’s house,” Felicity said as she pulled up a picture of the Merlyn mansion. “I don’t know anything about architecture, but a terrorist group wanting the blueprint to it can’t be good.”

“Sara, you say you’ve heard of the Ninth Circle. Ready to meet them up close?” Oliver asked and Sara nodded.

“With pleasure,” Sara said.

Merlyn Mansion  
Later

“Must be weird for you, being back here after all this time,” Sara said as she and Oliver began making their way through the mansion. “I’m not sure if I’ve said this, but I’m sorry about Tommy. I know you two were close.”

“Thank you, but can we talk about this late?” Oliver asked.

He didn’t mean to be rude, but it was hard enough being back here. Every time he turned a corner, he was assaulted with another memory of Tommy. He needed to focus on stopping Emiko. Fortunately, Sara seemed to understand, as she simply nodded.

Suddenly, they heard a screeching sound. The pair looked at each other, not needing to speak to know they were thinking the same thing: the garage under the house.

In the garage, Emiko’s men had pulled a van into the garage. Three men got out as Emiko notched an arrow and took aim at a small door a few feet away. She fired and the arrow hit the keypad. It sparked as it unlocked. Emiko and her men walked over, Emiko yanking the door opened to reveal what was inside. Wilson would be pleased, Emiko thought with a smirk.

Emiko’s hair suddenly stood on end and she whirled around, catching an arrow inches from her face. Throwing it to the floor, she saw Oliver aiming an arrow at her, a blond woman in black behind him, holding a baton. Oliver stiffened as he saw what was behind her.

“Get away from that Emiko,” Oliver ordered.

“No brother, I don’t think I will,” Emiko sneered.

Suddenly, several more men dressed like Emiko’s companions dropped down from the ceiling. They were surrounded.

“We’ll deal with them. You get it out of here,” Emiko ordered the men who had come with her.

“No!” 

Oliver fired at Emiko, who knocked the arrow aside with her bow before she and Oliver rushed each other. They began trading blows as Emiko’s men began heading towards their target. Sara tried to get to it but Emiko’s backup engaged her. Sara whirled her Baton, taking them out of the fight. But for each one she knocked down, another seemed to get up and rejoin the fight, stopping her from going after the ones who were loading the prize into the van.

“Do you have any idea what that thing can do?!” Oliver demanded as he and Emiko traded blows.

“Yes,” Emiko snapped, sending a kick towards his abdomen that Oliver had to jump back from to avoid. “I just don’t care.”

Emiko tried to strike Oliver with her bow but Oliver blocked with his own. They struggled before Oliver managed to get behind her, putting her in a chokehold.

“We don’t have to do with Emiko,” Oliver tried to reason with her.

“Yes, I think we do!” Emiko snapped as she broke out of Oliver’s chokehold. 

As she saw that Emiko’s men had loaded their target into the van, Sara stopped playing around. Pulling out her sonic device, she activated it. The garage was filled with a loud, sonic screech. The windows in the van shattered as everyone was forced to hold their ears. Sara rushed towards the car, which Emiko noticed. She fired an explosive arrow, which hit near Sara’s feet. The small explosion sent her flying back as Emiko turned to avoid Oliver’s attempted strike. They exchanged a few more blows before Emiko delivered a strong kick to his abdomen. As he stumbled back, Emiko leapt back.

“Bye brother,” she quipped before throwing something to the ground. 

It landed in front of Oliver and he realized it was a bomb. He ducked to the ground as it went off in a small explosion. But it was apparently a distraction more than anything else, as it didn’t do much damage and just filled the garage with smoke. He and Sara got to their feet as the smoke faded. Emiko was gone and they saw the truck had headed out. Oliver notched an arrow and fired. It hit the truck, bouncing off the side as the arrow hit the ground harmlessly.

“You missed,” Sara noted.

“No, I didn’t. It’s a Tracer Arrow; I’ll help us find them wherever they go. So we find the Ninth Circe and we get the device back before it hurts anyone,” Oliver explained.

“What did they take anyway?” Sara asked, knowing from Oliver’s reaction it wasn’t good.

“Malcolm Merlyn’s earthquake device,” Oliver said darkly as he remembered the destruction it had caused nine months ago. 

Arrow lair  
Later

“A prototype at least,” Oliver said as he finished recounting the events at the Merlyn mansion to the rest of the team. “It won’t destroy the city, but it will cause a lot of damage.”

“And now the Ninth Circle has it. great,” Roy said with a humorless laugh. 

“I hit the truck with a tracer Arrow; it should allow us to find it. Hopefully, before it’s too late,” Oliver said grimly.

Starling City  
Same time

“You alright sweetheart?” Quentin asked as he and Laurel had dinner in a restaurant. “You haven’t said much during dinner.”

“I just have a lot on my mind,” Laurel said truthfully.

It wasn’t a lie, because she did. She wanted to tell him about Sara being back. It was all she could think about but Sara had made her promise not to say anything, explaining in vague detail that people were after her that wouldn’t hesitate to kill her or their father in order to get to her.

“What’s going on Laurel?” Quentin asked and Laurel wrestled with herself for a moment.

“I got fired,” Laurel said, deciding to go with another truth. “Being associated with the guy who apparently murdered Sebastian Blood does not reflect well on the DA’s office. I got a full severance package and a bunch of excuses but I know why I was being fired for doing what I believe in.” 

“I’m sorry Laurel. Is there anything I can do?” Quentin asked concerned.

“I don’t know,” Laurel admitted. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said the night of Tommy’s birthday bash four years ago.”

“Please don’t remind me of that,” Quentin said, wincing at the memory of him going off on Thea.

“Not your drunken rant,” Laurel quickly assured. “About how I wanted to help make the world a better place. And I realized that I made the same mistake I was making four years ago. The biggest thing I’ve done at the DA’s office was try to get Moira killed. That was never the kind of lawyer I wanted to be, someone who just takes a job, I wanted to help people.”

“So what are you gonna do?” Quentin asked after a moment.

“I’m not sure yet. But something needs to change,” Laurel decided.

Quentin nodded before the waiter placed a glass of watch in front of him. Unnoticed by Quentin, the waiter had slipped something else in beforehand. Quentin picked it up and took a drink before continuing his conversation with Laurel, not noticing anything amiss.

Arrow lair  
Same time

Oliver was sitting in a corner of the lair, staring at a picture of himself and Thea when they were younger. Sara walked up behind him, seeing the picture.

“Wondering if that could have been you and Emiko?” Sara asked after a moment.

“No. I know what she’s done, I know what she is. But-” Oliver started.

“But part of you isn’t ready to give up on her yet,” Sara said and Oliver was silent. “Ollie, I get it, she’s your sister. But she isn’t Thea, she made her choice. Maybe her mother turned her into this, but Tommy was raised by Malcolm Merlyn of all people. It didn’t turn him into a monster, did it?”

“No,” Oliver admitted.

“At a certain point, we’re all responsible for our own choices,” Sara told him. “Maybe Emiko would have turned out differently if your father had been in her life, if she’d gotten to grow up with you and Thea and the rest of us. But Emiko is responsible for Emiko, no one else.”

Oliver frowned, considering her words as Roy walked over to them.

“Hey, Felicity got a hit on your tracer Arrow,” Roy said.

“It’s in a warehouse about ten minutes away from the Merlyn Mansion,” Felicity them as they all stood around the computers. “Perfect place to hide an earthquake machine.”

“Roy, do you have one of your red hoodies?” Oliver asked as he turned to his student.

“Do you even have to ask?” Roy asked dryly and Oliver nodded.

“Put one on. John, you two are coming with us. I’m not taking any chances,” Oliver said with authority.

Warehouse district  
Not long after

Oliver and Sara were dressed in theirs suits as Roy and Diggle followed after them. Roy had a bow and quiver on his back while Diggle was armed with two pistols. Oliver gave the single and group burst into the warehouse to find…nothing. 

The track from the Merlyn Mansion was there, but it was empty. The device was gone.

Unknown location  
Same time

“Well done,” Slade said as he gazed upon the device. “Oliver wasn’t too much trouble?”

“He’s blinded by family loyalty,” Emiko said and Slade chuckled.

“Yes, that does seem to be the kid’s weakness,” Slade agreed.

“What do you plan to do with this?” Emiko inquired as they both looked at the device.

“At the moment, nothing. When all is said and done, this will be the key to making Oliver pay for everything he has taken from me,” Slade promised with a dark smile. 

Arrow lair  
Later

“Emiko must have ditched the van and loaded the device onto another vehicle after the fight at Merlyn’s mansion,” Oliver said as they all stood in the lair.

“So what do we do now?” Diggle asked.

“We can’t do anything right now,” Oliver said as they looked at him incredulously. “It’s been hours since they took the device. If they wanted to, they could have set it off. Why haven’t they?”

“Because they don’t want to. Not yet at least. They’re waiting for something,” Sara realized and Oliver nodded.

“And we need to find them before then,” Oliver said as he started walking out of the lair.

“Um, where are you going?” Felicity asked as they all stared at his retreating form in confusion.

“Somewhere I promised myself I’d never go again,” Oliver tossed over his shoulder.

Argus base  
Later 

Amanda Waller walked into her office, holding her gun as she saw that her guards were out with tranq darts in their necks. Seeing the man responsible, she lowered her gun.

“Hello Oliver,” Waller greeted as he turned around to face her.

“Hello Amanda,” he said blankly as he lowered his hood.

“Still mad at me?” she asked smugly.

“Fortunately, you’ve been pushed down that list,” he said lowly.

“Who do you want to kill more than me?” she inquired.

“Have you ever heard of a group called the Ninth Circle?” Oliver asked.

“Can’t say I have,” Waller admitted.

“Well, they are a group of terrorist who special in bringing down Regimes. They’re in Starling City, I think they plan to take down the government,” Oliver explained. “I need your help to find them.”

Starling City  
Same time

“You didn’t have to walk me home Dad. I’m not a little kid anymore,” Laurel told him amused.

“You’ll always be my little girl, no matter how old you get,” Quentin told her.

She laughed before something happened. Quentin swayed on his feet, his vision blurring. He stumbled forward, using the wall for support as Laurel looked at him worried.

“Dad?” she asked alarmed.

Quentin then fell to the floor, dazed as Laurel rushed to his side.

“Dad? Dad?” Laurel cried out as Quentin succumbed to unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Ninth Circle seems like a threat the League of Assassins would try to deal with IMO.
> 
> Honestly, even the horrible drug addiction Arc aside, season two took Laurel’s character into a completely different place than she should have gone. She went from doing something to help people to the DA’s office. Even if CNRI couldn’t reopen, there were certainly other avenues for Laurel to pursue so she could keep helping people. Instead, she goes to the DA’s office, when she has noticeably had issues with how the politics of the DA’s office works. It’s just a really strange choice for Laurel’s character at that point.


	33. Heir to the Demon part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara must face her past as Nyssa arrives in Starling City, determined to make Sara return to the League, whether she wants to or not.

Starling City Airport  
Morning

At customs, a young woman handed her passport to the attendant as she reached the front of the line.

"Business or personal, Miss Raatko?" he asked as he checked her passport.

“Personal,” she said simply.

As he processed her passport, there was a beep from his computer. Nyssa could see from his face that she had been made.

“My computer froze. Can you hold on a sec? I’ll be right back,” the attendant lied before rushing off.

Nyssa glanced over her shoulder, seeing a security guard put a hand to his ear, no doubt calling for backup. Within seconds, she had a gun pointed to her head as the guard rushed to her.

“Down on the ground, down, down!" he barked as the nearby people screamed in terror, dropping to the floor. “Put your hands on your head! I said, hands on your head lady. I will shoot you."

With a smirk, Nyssa raised her hands before she struck. Spinning around, she easily disarmed him before slamming his head through the glass of the custom’s desk. Grabbing a pen, she stabbed it into the lower arm of the guard that emerged on her side before a well-aimed kick sent him to the floor. The third guard was easily dealt with, Nyssa unraveling the restriction rope and wrapping it around his neck, waiting until he was unconscious before letting go. Two more guards rushed over and Nyssa easily knocked them on the backs before picking up their side batons and, with two sticks, knocked them out. Nyssa then dropped it, grabbed her bag, and walked out as the terrified civilians looked at her in fear.

Queen Consolidated   
Not long after

“A successful mayoral campaign isn't about polling, it isn't about fundraising or hot button issues,” Mark told Moira, Oliver, Thea and Walter sat they sat in the conference room. "It's about connecting with people. That's why right after we announce tomorrow, Moira, I want to get you in front of as many cameras as possible. Morning shows, talk shows-"

"Mark, I want to help rebuild the city, not pander to it,” Moira interrupted.

“Mom, it’s not pandering, it’s campaigning,” Oliver pointed out lightly.

“I just with…everything going on, our time could be better spent talking about the issues, not going to the media,” Moira pointed out, mindful of Walter and Mark in the room.

“Everything going on is exactly why we need to the media. With Blood’s murder, Starling City needs hope. Who better to give it to them than you? Let the people get to know the real Moira Queen, and they are going to fall in love with you,” Mark assured her.

“Speaking from experience Moira, this man knows what he’s talking about,” Walker added.

Further conversation was interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing.

“Sorry, that’s me,” Oliver said he got up, pulling his phone out and seeing it was Laurel. “This’ll take just a moment.

Stepping over to the corner of the conference room, Oliver answered his phone.

“Laurel, now’s not a good time…Slow down, I can’t understand what you’re saying…what? Okay, I’ll be right there,” Laurel said as he hung up, everyone turning to him.

“Is there something Oliver?” Moira asked concerned.

“I’m sorry, I need to go,” Oliver said before he turned and walked out, leaving four pairs of eyes staring after him.

Starlin General Hospital  
Later

Quentin was asleep, hooked up to some machines as Laurel sat in a chair by his bedside, eyes red from crying. The door to the room opened and Laurel looked up as Oliver entered.

“Thanks for coming. I didn’t know who else to call,” Laurel said as she got to her feet.

“What happened Laurel?” Oliver as he walked over to her, looking down at Quentin’s sleeping form.

“I wish I knew. We had dinner last night at a restaurant, he walked me home. Before I could even unlock the door, he collapsed. He’s in a coma and the doctors can’t tell me why,” Laurel said with a shaky breath.

“Laurel, I hate to ask, but-” Oliver started.

“He wasn’t drinking. The only thing he had to drink was water,” Laurel quickly assured him and Oliver nodded.

“Okay. But something had to happen, he’s not in this coma for no reason,” Olive said as they stared at Quentin.

“I don’t know Ollie. But…he was an alcoholic for so long and was under a lot of stress. What if-” Laurel cut herself off, unable to finish the thought. “I can’t lose him Ollie.”

Silently, Oliver pulled her into a hug, mentally going over any contacts that could help him find out what was wrong with Quentin. He’d lost his father; he’d be damned if he let the same thing happen to Laurel and Sara without a fight.

Arrow lair  
Afternoon

“Rough day of training with Sin?” Felicity asked as Sara walked in with a bruise on her face.

“Sin and I were sparing with Escirma sticks, Sin broke mine and accidentally hit me in the face,” Sara explained and Felicity nodded.

“If you ignore the side effects, the Mirakuru could be a weapon anyone would die to get their hands on. I see why this Ivo wanted it,” Diggle noted as Oliver walked in.

“Which is why we need to help Sin learn how to control it,” Oliver said before looking at Diggle and Felicity. “Can I talk to Sara alone for a minute?”

The look on Oliver’s face was enough for them to know he was only asking as a curtesy. Diggle and Felicity walked out as Sara looked at him oddly.

“If this is about Sin-”

“It’s not,” Oliver quickly assured her. “It’s about your father.”

“Dad? Has something happened?” Sara said as she straightened, worry shining in her eyes.

“He was out with Laurel last night when he suddenly collapsed. He’s in a coma and the doctors can’t seem to figure out why. I’ll already asked for Laurel to get me a copy of his blood work and I’m prepared to do everything I can to help him but…it doesn’t look good,” Oliver said gently as Sara paled. “Sara…in case worst comes to worst; you might want to go say your goodbyes. Not everyone gets to.”

Starling General Hospital   
Night

The television was on in the background as Laurel sat by Quentin’s bedside. She was half asleep when the door opened up. Laurel’s opened her eyes, seeing Sara walk in wearing a baseball cap.

“Sara,” Laurel said as she sat upright.

“How is he?” Sara asked as she walked over to Quentin.

“In a coma. The doctor’s…they aren’t sure what happened to him,” Laurel said and it was silent as Sara took his hand.

“I’m sorry,” Sara said and Laurel looked at her oddly. “This is my fault.”

“No,” Laurel said immediately.

“Yes, it is. He started drinking because I got on that boat with Ollie,” Sara said in a voice thick with emotion. 

“You didn’t make him pick up the bottle, he made that choice by himself,” Laurel said as she walked over to Sara, putting her hand on the side of her sister’s face and making Sara look at her. “Dad and I blamed Ollie for what happened to you for a long time, but we were wrong to do that because it wasn’t his fault, it wasn’t your fault either. We were all just kids when that happened, there was no way any of us could have predicted what Malcolm Merlyn would do. Blaming you or Ollie or even me isn’t going to help him. I’m not sure if this is because of dad’s drinking or not, but even if it is, it’s not your fault.”

Sara looked like she wanted to argue when she saw something over Laurel’s shoulder and paled.

“I have to go,” Sara muttered before walking passed Laurel and out of the room.

Laurel, bewildered by Sara’s behavior, looked towards what had caught Sara’s attention. It was the television, a news report talking about an attack at the airport earlier. A picture of the assailant was on the screen. It was Nyssa. 

Out in the parking lot, Sara was making her out, trying to get a safe distance when, suddenly, a dark form, appearing only as a shadow, jumped down, blocking her path. Sara froze as Nyssa rose to her fell height, pulling down her vail to reveal her face.

A short distance away, Oliver stood in the shadows, an arrow trained on Nyssa as she approached Sara, pulling her a dagger from her sheath. He was ready to release the draw string when Nyssa pulled Sara to her and, to his surprise, pulled her into a kiss.

He…had not bene expecting that, Oliver thought in surprise as he lowered his bow. 

Sara returned the kiss more out of habit than anything, wondering what Nyssa’s agenda was. She clearly wasn’t going to kill her, which Sara had half expected. And if her suspicions were right, than Nyssa wasn’t afraid to use her family to get to her.

After a moment, Nyssa pulled back.

“I’ve had better greetings,” Nyssa noted.

“I wasn’t sure what you were gonna do,” Sara said honestly.

“To be honest, neither did I,” Nyssa said as she glanced down at her dagger before putting it back in its sheath. 

“We should talk,” Sara said.

“Of course,” Nyssa agree. “Do you need permission from your boyfriend?”

Nyssa turned around, revealing Oliver standing there. Sara almost hadn’t noticed him there. Almost. 

“I am Nyssa. Daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Heir to the demon,” Nyssa declared boldly.

“What are you doing here?" Oliver demanded.

“Sara swore her allegiance to the League of Assassins. It’s time for her to return home,” Nyssa said.

“That is not gonna happen,” Oliver said in a growl.

“Nyssa,” Sara said as she jumped between them, trying to avoid the inevitable fight between them. "Please, would you give us a moment?"

“Take your time. Goodbyes are never easy. Is that why I didn’t get one?” Nyssa asked, an undertone of bitterness entering her voice before she turned and walked a short distance away, giving them some privacy.

“I can explain,” Sara said as she turned around to face Oliver.

“You don’t have to,” Oliver assured her, understanding that she didn’t want to tell him everything that happened while she was gone. "But you're not leaving. I don't trust her."

“Right now, neither do I,” Sara admitted before looking over her shoulder, seeing Nyssa watching them. “But I need you to trust me, okay? I need to handle this and I need to do it right, or there will be Hell to pay, for all of us.”

As much as Oliver hated it, he rationalized that Sara knew Nyssa better than he did, which made her better equipped to handle the situation. So, feeling like he could vomit fire, he watched as Sara walked over to Nyssa and walked away.

Queen Mansion  
Same time

Moira was in the sitting room, reading a book when one of her staff walked in.

“Mrs. Queen, there’s a Miss Smoak here to see you,’ they said and Moira frowned.

“Let her in,” Moira said wondering what this was about.

“I’m surprised you remembered me,” Felicity admitted as she walked in.

“I make it a point to remember everyone who used to work for me. As well as those who know my son’s secret,” Moira said and Felicity started.

“You know?” she said surprised.

“For months. But you didn’t come here to talk about my son’s secrets, did you Felicity?” Moira said pointedly and Felicity remembered why she was there.

“No, I didn’t,” Felicity agreed. “I came here to talk about Tempest.”

Moira gave Felicity her full attention then. From what she knew about Felicity’s abilities, from both the recordings and what Oliver had told her, she had a good feeling she knew why Felicity was there.

"I flagged a large wire transfer you made. When I mentioned it to Walter, he said he would talk to you about it. I could tell in his face he wouldn't. British people are really bad liars,” Felicity rambled.

“Indeed they are,” Moira said lowly, her heart hammering in her chest. 

“So I looked into it myself, because-full disclosure- I-I don't trust you,” Felicity said and Moira shrugged.

“Fair enough,” Moira acknowledged. 

“You paid a substantial sum of money to a Dr. Gill. He was the doctor who delivered Thea, which didn't make any sense to me. So I went through like a dozen different theories until I remembered… your testimony. At trail. You had an affair with Malcolm Merlyn one year before Thea was born. Merlyn is Thea's father,” Felicity finished, pausing as the words hung between them for a moment.

“I can see why Walter and Oliver have such a high appraisal of your capabilities,” Moira said as she got to her feet, impressed despite herself. “So, what are you going to do with this information?” There was a moment of silence as Moira walked behind her. “Felicity?”

“I don't know. Confronting you in your living room was as far as my plan went,” Felicity admitted as she turned around to face Moira. “I thought you deserved the chance to tell Oliver yourself. He should hear it from you.”

“You assume that my son doesn’t already know,” Moira said coolly.

“He doesn’t,” Felicity said, losing confidence in that assumption when Moira gave her an amused smile. “…he knows?”

“He and Thea have both known for months. There are no more secrets between my children and I,” Moira said. “Although, I think he’ll find it interesting how someone he trusts went behind his back to dig into his family without telling him and then attempted to blackmail his mother.”

“I wasn’t trying to-” Felicity started.

“Yes,” Moira said, her voice cold, cutting Felicity off with a single word. “You were. I don’t doubt that you only had my son’s best interest at heart, but you have crossed a line today. My son can so scarcely trust people, both as Oliver Queen and…the other side of him. He deserves to know the kind of person he is putting his trust in. Tonight, you came here with the intention of giving me an ultimatum. Now, I am giving you one: you have twenty four hours to tell Oliver what you did and why you came here tonight or I will tell him myself.”

Moira walked away from Felicity and picked up her book, looking down at it for a moment. 

“As you just told me…he deserves to hear it from you,” Moira said mockingly. “Now please get the Hell out of my house.”

Starling City  
Not long after

“You look different,” Nyssa noted as she and Sara walked towards Starling Bay.

“I’m still me,” Sara said.

“The Sara I know wouldn't have betrayed us and fled Nanda Parbat under the cover of darkness,” Nyssa said, more than a little anger in her voice.

“I had to,” Sara said as they stopped. “The earthquake - I needed to see my family, make sure they were safe."

“And so they are. Come home,” Nyssa said, her voice softening slightly.

“The League was never my home Nyssa. And there are things here, things I have to do,” Sara said as thought of Sin and the Mirakuru. “I have to stay.”

"You swore an oath. My father sent me here to make sure you honor it. One way or another," Nyssa told her.

“Is that why you had my father poisoned? Sara demanded, taking Nyssa back. “I didn’t put it together until I saw you on the news just now. It’s not a coincidence that he goes into a coma just as you show up. You had him poisoned, didn’t you?”

“When I found you, you were starving, and alone, simply waiting to die,” Nyssa said quietly after a moment. “The League took you in, nursed you back to health. The only reason you're alive today is because of me."

“So because you saved me, I’m supposed to be with you? That’s not love Nyssa. It’s also not a denial,” Sara pointed out, disappointment and anger flooding through her. “I’m not going back Nyssa. But I will tell you this: if you go after my family again, even if I do go back; nothing will repair what you break between us. Think about that before you do anything rash.”

Sara then walked passed Nyssa, who stared after, pain and anger in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if Felicity was right that Moira should have come clean about Thea’s true parentage, she was way out of line. Before anyone tries to tell me otherwise, as I’m sure there will be at least one person who does, imagine it happened to you. Someone you trusted, a friend or coworker, goes behind your back and digs into your family, finds out a family secret, then confronts your parents and attempts to blackmail them, even if it’s for the right reasons. I don’t know about you, but I would be pissed. 
> 
> The whole situation was none of Felicity’s business. If she thought Moira was up to something, she should have told Oliver and trusted him to handle it. The fact that Walter was covering for Moira was a huge sign that this wasn’t another Undertaking but Felicity still would not let it go. And by the time she tells Oliver the truth, it is no longer about believing he had a right to know, it is about sticking it to Moira. She went out of her way to destroy Oliver’s relationship with Moira out of spite. She stuck her nose where it did not belong and then destroyed Oliver’s relationship with his mother in order to get back at Moira. That right there says everything about the kind of person Felicity actually is. 
> 
> I love Nyssa, she’s one of my favorite characters and I think she had one of the best character arcs in the entire Arrowverse. But, with that said, it’s really hard to ignore the fact that she was introduced as a villainous stalker who treated Sara as more of a possession than a person. And, as someone who has suffered emotional abuse in the past, I see several signs of it in Nyssa’s relationship with Sara in 2x13, with Nyssa as the abuser.
> 
> Considering that Sara cared so much about her family that she ran from the League to check on them, knowing that was essentially a death sentence, I find it extremely OOC for Sara to be making moon eyes at the person putting them in danger. Sara is not stupid; she had to at least suspect that Nyssa had something to do with Laurel’s collapse. I could see the Sara from Legends doing that, but not the real Sara.
> 
> And since I know I’m going to get some Laurel fanatic telling me how it is in character for Sara and she’s a whore and blah blah blah, I’m gonna be blunt: I really don’t give a crap what you fanatics think. Go back to your echo chambers where you can rant about how Sara is this evil bitch and get lost.


	34. Heir to the Demon part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Nyssa targets Sara's family, a member of Team Arrow is injured. Sara takes matters into her own hands.

Arrow lair  
Night

Oliver stared down at the copy of Quentin’s blood work Diggle had just handed him, fury and dread welling up in him.

“You’re sure about this?” Oliver asked.

“Got it straight from the doctors. Detective Lance didn’t collapse because of any health issues, someone poisoned him with snake venom,” Diggle said grimly.

“Let me guess, Tibet Pit Viper venom?” Sara asked as she reentered the lair, Oliver, Diggle and Felicity turning to her. “It’s the League’s specialty.” 

“You knew?” Oliver asked, noting she didn’t look surprised, just angry and hurt. 

“I suspected when I realized Nyssa was in town, she didn’t exactly deny it when I confronted her about it. Nyssa’s not gonna stop until she gets what she wants. And since my father is in a coma, her target will be-”

“Laurel,” Oliver finished.

Roy’s house  
Not long after

Roy was asleep when his phone rang from its place on the nightstand by his bedside, waking him. Beside him, Jade groaned, tuning over as Roy picked up his phone. Seeing it was Oliver, Roy answered.

“This is my night off, this better be good,” Roy said as he sat up.

“We think Laurel might be in danger. She’s at Starling General checking on Detective Lance, head over there and keep watch. Look for anyone that seems suspicious and whatever you do, do not engage,” Oliver ordered and Roy sighed.

“Alright, I’ll be right there,” Roy said before hanging up.

“What’s going on?” Jade asked as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“A friend of mine needs a lift, their car broke down,” Roy lied, feeling the knife twisting as he did. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

“I can go with you,” Jade offered.

“No, it’s okay. I got it,” Roy said, leaning down and kissing her before leaving standing up and grabbing his discarded clothes. “It’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Starling General  
Later 

Laurel had stepped out of her father’s room to get some water. As the water poor into her cup, her hair stood on end. Someone was behind her, she realized. She whirled around; taking out the mace in her pocket before stopping as she realized who it was.

“You realize that mace won’t work on anyone but your average crook, right?” Roy asked dryly as she lowered it.

“I didn’t bring my gun,” Laurel said as she pocketed the mace. “What are you doing here Roy?”

“Oliver thinks you might be in danger, he sent me here to watch you,” Roy said and she looked at him perplexed.

“It’s Starling City, I’m danger every time I step outside my apartment. What makes this any different?” Laurel asked and Roy shrugged.

“Not sure, but he sounded pretty worried,” Roy said and Laurel sighed.

“More time fighting back,” Laurel muttered and Roy frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about the last week. First, Blood gets murdered and Ollie is framed for it. Then, my Dad goes into a coma. Now I’m in danger. And part of me can’t help but think that we did this by changing the present. The Ninth Circle wasn’t even supposed to come after Ollie for another five years. Maybe-maybe this is time punishing us for playing God,” Laurel ranted.

“Maybe this is our fault, maybe time is fighting back,” Roy acknowledged after a moment. “But we knew there would be consciences to trying to change the future. We all agreed to do it anyway, you me, your dad, Thea and Mrs. Queen. Are you honestly telling me you’d make a different choice if you had to make it over again?”

“No. I’d make the same choice again in a heartbeat. Anything is better than that dystopian future,” Laurel said after a moment and Roy nodded.

“Arsenal, Mia and Rene picked us for a reason. They trusted us with this mission, to help Oliver change the future. We can’t stop now just because things aren’t going as we expected,” Roy said firmly.

Laurel nodded, conceding his point. Before she could say anything, an Arabian man in a lab coat rounded the corner. Roy looked over at him, feeling something off with this picture. Before he could even react, the man turned and buried a knife in his abdomen. Roy stumbled back, falling on his side as the man pressed a rag full of chloroform to Laurel’s mouth before she could cry out. Laurel was knocked out almost instantly as the assassin picked her up bridal style. As he carried her out, Roy managed to get his phone out of his pocket and send a text to Oliver.

After transferring Laurel into a wheelchair, the assassin headed to a parking garage, where Nyssa was waiting. Loading Laurel into the back of a van, the door was closed and they got in. The van took off and was soon ridding down a road when, suddenly, a load screech pierced the air. The car windows shattered as Nyssa and the assassin saw Oliver and Sara headed towards them on a motorcycle. As they got behind the van, Nyssa climbed into the back. Nyssa fired multiple arrows as them but Oliver raised the motorcycle and the arrows bounced harmlessly off the bottom of his vehicle. Nyssa stopped, realizing it was pointless as the motorcycle went back onto the ground and Oliver gained on the van. 

Sara jumped over Oliver and landed on the roof of the van. As Sara held on, Nyssa began firing arrows through the ceiling, forcing Sara to climb down until she was on the passenger’s side window. Looking in, she got distracted as she saw Laurel. Nyssa took advantage of this, striking Sara in the jaw and causing Sara to lose her grip. Sara went flying, landing the ground as Oliver fired a few arrows, but they simply bounced off the back doors of the van as it got away. Oliver stopped, staring in horror as Sara got to her feet, letting out wails of anger and despair.

Starling General  
Later

Oliver stood outside Roy’s room in the hospital, staring at Roy’s unmoving form in the bed as he heard someone rushing in. Turning his head, he saw an Asian woman he thought he’d seen Roy with at the club and at work a few times.

“Jade, right?” Oliver said, trying to remember her name.

“And you’re Oliver Queen,” Jade said, stepping up to Roy’s room and looking inside. “What happened?”

“Not completely sure. I was visiting a friend in the hospital when I saw Roy being wheeled in on a gurney. From what I could get from the nurses, Roy was found in the hallway with a knife sticking out of his gut. He lost a lot of blood, but he’s stable,” Oliver said and Jade nodded, clear relief on her face. “Any idea what he was doing here?”

“He said he had to go pick up a friend, next thing I know, I’m getting a call that he’s been stabbed. He’s-he’s gonna be okay, right?” Jade said uncertainly.

“From all accounts, he’s gonna be fine. But he could probably use some company,” Oliver said kindly.

Jade nodded before entering the room. Oliver waited a few more moments, watching as she took Roy’s hand and sat down in her chair by his bed before turning and walking out. Nyssa al Ghul had just made things personal.

Arrow lair  
Later

Sara was pacing back and forth, Diggle standing in the corner, arms crossed as Felicity sat at the computer, deep in thought. All of them looked up as Oliver entered the room.

“How’s Roy?” Diggle asked immediately.

“He’s lost a lot of blood, but he’s gonna be fine. Roy got lucky, the way he was stabbed…it was a move designed to kill,” Oliver said and he paused. “Any leads on Laurel?”

“I did some research on the drug Nyssa used on Detective Lance. Luckily for us, Tibetan Pit Viper venom is surprisingly difficult to transport. It starts losing its potency the moment it leaves the fangs,” Felicity said before pausing. “Yet another sentence I never thought I’d say.”

“So it was bought locally?” Sara asked.

“Not bought, Stolen. The Zoo had a break in. The perps didn't steal anything, so the cops chalked it up to a bunch of kids looking for a thrill. I pulled up the zoo CCTV footage from the night of the break-in,” Felicity said, pulling up an image of a car before zooming in on the license plate. “I caught a plate. The car's a rental. Address is in the Glades."

Before Oliver could say anything, Sara’s phone rang. Pulling it out, she answered almost immediately.

“Nyssa, don't do this," she begged.

“I tried to warn you, but you wouldn’t listen,” Nyssa said coolly. “I thought it would be instructive for you to know what it feels like to suddenly lose someone you love. To have them ripped from your life without warning.”

“You’re angry at me, fine, then punish me, take it out on me. Leave my family out of this,” Sara almost begged.

“You have one day, Ta-er al-Sahfer. Make the right choice,” Nyssa said coldly before hanging up.

Unspecified location  
Same time

Nyssa pocketed the phone before looking back at Laurel, who looked at her without fear despite being tied up.

“You can’t make my sister love you,” Laurel said simply.

“You understand nothing,” Nyssa said as she turned away from Laurel.

“I understand that you are hurt and angry, but this won’t make it better. You can’t force Sara into doing wat you want, I learned that the hard way,” Laurel said, remembering her own attempts to convince Oliver to move in together and where that had led. “Forcing Sara to be with you won’t make her love you. It will make her resent you and make you both miserable.”

Suddenly, Nyssa’s sword was at Laurel’s neck. Laurel paused, honestly unsure if Nyssa would kill her or not. This was not the Nyssa she had seen on those recordings, this was the Nyssa who had been fully capable of blackmailing Oliver with Thea’s life in order to get what she wanted.

After a moment, Nyssa lowered her sword back to her side and tuned away from her. And, despite herself, Laurel just felt sad for her, as her words had clearly struck a chord with Nyssa. Because, whether Nyssa would accept it or not, she knew that Laurel was right. 

The Glades  
Later

Sara stood outside a warehouse, holding her baton as she waited. She did not have to wait long. Nyssa’s partner glided down on a silk sheet as Oliver jumped down after him. Sara rushed in as she and Oliver engaged him, using their baton and bow respectively as he blocked with his Sai’s. However, Sara managed to behind him and put him in a neck lock with her baton.

“Where is Nyssa?!” Sara demanded.

In response, he slammed his head down on the baton, hard and a snapping sound was heard. Suddenly, foam began to leak from the assassin’s mouth and Sara let go in surprise as he fell to the ground before stilling. 

“He had a cyanide capsule in his teeth,” Oliver realized. “Nyssa planned for this.”

Angrily, Sara stuck her baton on a nearby car, shattering the window. But it did not make her feel any better.

Starling General, next day  
Morning

Roy groaned as he came to, feeling a spike of pain in his abdomen. It all came back to him as his eyes snapped open.

“Laurel!” Roy tried to sit up but groaned as pain shot through.

This awakened Jade, who had dozed off in the chair by his bedside. 

“Hey, calm down. You’re lucky to be alive right now, I wouldn’t go trying to save anyone,” Jade said as she pushed back until he was lying in bed.

“Jade?” Roy asked his mind still not really awake yet.

“Yeah, it’s me, your girlfriend. You wanna tell me how you ended up stabbed in the hospital when you were supposed to be giving your friend a lift?” Jade asked pointedly.

“It’s what I was doing. Laurel’s car broke down so she called me to give her a lift,” Roy lied.

“Laurel, Laurel Lance?” Jade asked in surprise and Roy nodded. “How do you know her?”

“I dated Thea Queen. You tend to meet a lot of high profile people when you date a Queen,” Roy said dryly. “We were about to head out to my car when someone dressed like a doctor stabbed me. Do you know if she’s alright?”

“No, no she’s not,” Jade said before telling him what was happening.

Queen Consolidated  
Afternoon

In the lobby, the crowd was getting prepared for Moira’s press conference as Oliver made his way over to Diggle and Felicity.

“How’s Sara holding up?” Diggle asked almost immediately. 

“Not well. And I need you to pick up the trail on Nyssa, because Laurel is running out of time. We almost lost Roy to this psychopath, I’m not going to lose anyone else,” Oliver said in a voice that left no room for argument.

“I’m on it,” Diggle said before walking off.

“Oliver,” Oliver and Felicity turned around as Moira and Thea approached. “We heard about Laurel, is there anything we can do?”

“Do the best you can on this interview. I’ll worry about Laurel, okay?” Oliver said trying not to let his mother and Thea see how bad it was.

“And Roy? I heard someone was stabbed, didn’t take long to figure out it was Roy,” Thea said, worry for her ex shining in her eyes.

“Roy’s fine, the doctors are gonna keep him a few more days, but he should be back to normal in a few weeks,” Oliver quickly assured her.

As Oliver and Thea talked, Moira looked over at Felicity. It was clear to her that Felicity had not told Oliver, judging by the ‘deer in headlights’ look she sported at Moira’s look. Moira raised an eyebrow in a ‘what’s it gonna be’ way as Mark approached.

“Oliver, are you ready to introduce your mother?” he asked.

“With pride,” Oliver said as they headed towards the stage.

Starling City Cemetery  
Same time

Sara stood over her own grave, feeling an odd sense of finality. Her phone rang and she pulled it out, already knowing who it was.

“Time’s up. Have you come to a decision?” Nyssa asked as she answered. 

“Let my sister go and I will return with you to Nanda Parbat,” Sara promised. 

“You’re doing the ring thing Sara, for both of us,” Nyssa said and Sara resisted the urge to throw her phone into her headstone. 

“We’ll see,” Sara said before hanging up.

Sara pulled out the vial of Tibet Pit Viper venom she had stolen from the same zoo Nyssa had gotten hers from, staring down at it as she heard a pair of footsteps approach. She pocketed it as she turned around to face Sin.

“Why’d you want to meet here? “Sin asked before seeing the headstone. “Whoa, is that-”

“Me, yeah,” Sara said with a nod. “But that’s not important right now. I need your help.”

Queen Consolidated  
Same time

“I say this with confidence. Because the Moira Queen that I know is more than a successful CEO and philanthropist. She is a loving mother who has devoted her life to raising two wonderful children. Just to tell you how special she is, I'd like to welcome her son. CEO of Queen Consolidated, Mr. Oliver Queen,” Walter introduced as the press conference began.

“Thank you Walter,” Oliver said as he took the podium. “I’m here to say a few words about my mother. It’s no secret that many people think they know my mother, but they do not. My mother…is a tenacious fighter for what she holds precious and what she believes in. Never have I seen someone with so much passion and love in her heart. And I know she will use all of it to help this city. Moira Queen everybody.”

The crowd erupted into a round of applause as Oliver stepped back and kissed his mother on the cheek before she took the podium.

“Thank you! Thank you Starling City!” Moira said as she began her speech.

Arrow lair  
Not long after

“Sara?” Oliver called out as he, Diggle and Felicity reentered the lair.

“She’s gone,” Diggle noted.

“You don’t think…” Felicity trailed off.

“Felicity, activate her tracer,” Oliver ordered.

“You put a tracer on her?” Diggle asked as Felicity walked over to the computer.

“She has a habit of disappearing on me. I am not going to lose anyone to Nyssa al Ghul. And, if Sara has another intention, if half the things I have heard about Ra’s al Ghul are true, we will all pay if Sara kills his daughter,” Oliver said darkly. 

Starling City docks  
Not long after

“You are free to go,” Nyssa said as she untied Laurel.

Laurel stood up, fingering her wrists where the ropes had been. Hearing footsteps, Laurel turned around to see Sara and Sin enter the room.

“Sara? What’s going on?” Laurel asked her heart filling with dread as she realized what Sara was doing. “No. You can’t-”

“Sin, get my sister out of here,” Sara ordered.

“No, Sara,” Laurel said as Sin grabbed her and, using her superior strength, began dragging Laurel out of there. “Don’t do this Sara! We can find another way! Sara! SARA!”

Sara waited until her sister’s cries had faded until she started walking towards Nyssa. However, she had barely taken three steps before she collapsed onto the ground. Alarmed, Nyssa rushed to her side, taking her into her arms as Sara opened her eyes, revealing hemorrhaging blue orbs.

“You took the poison,” Nyssa realized in dread.

“Can’t take the killing anymore,” Sara said weakly.

“NO! NO!” Nyssa wailed in despair.

“Can’t do it anymore. It needs to end,” Sara said weakly.

“Sara? Sara!” Sin, having been alerted by Nyssa’s cries, returned and rushed to Sara’s side.

As Laurel quickly followed her, Nyssa got to her feet, rage filling her.

“If you want to be with your family so badly, they can join you in eternity,” Nyssa said coldly as she drew her dagger.

Before Sin or Laurel could do anything, an arrow suddenly hit Nyssa’s hand and knocked the dagger out of it. She whirled around, seeing The Hood standing behind her.

“Live or die. It's up to you,” he told her.

Oliver then drew another arrow, notched it, and fired. Nyssa jumped out of the way, picking up her bow from a nearby table and notching an arrow with it. She turned back to fire but Oliver had vanished into the shadows.

“No one has to die today Nyssa. I can still save her,” Oliver said, his voice seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once.

“Worry more about yourself!” Nyssa snarled.

She suddenly whirled around, firing at Oliver, who jumped out of the way. The two of them began firing arrow and arrow, none of which made contact. They rushed each other and, with matching blows knocked the bows out of the other’s hand. Nyssa drew a dagger before an arrow flew out, knocking it out of Nyssa’s hand. Oliver and Nyssa whirled around; both shocked to see who had fired the arrow.

“Stand down sister,” Talia said, aiming an arrow at Nyssa.

“Talia?” Oliver breathed.

Silently, his teacher tossed him a vial, which Oliver instinctively caught.

“That should act as an anti-toxin for the venom in Sara Lance’s system. Take it to her, my sister and I need to talk,” Talia said calmly.

Silently processing the fact that his teacher was also the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul (which sure explained a lot), Oliver raced towards where Sara, Laurel and Sin were. Uncorking the vial, Oliver began helping Sara take the antidote as Laurel and Sin watched with baited breath.

“This does not concern you Talia,” Nyssa snapped.

“It does when my sister is coming into conflict with my student, risking war with our father, which will not end well for him, the League, or Starling City,” Talia said as she circled Nyssa. “What a foolish woman you’ve grown into.”

“You know nothing!” Nyssa snapped and Talia gave her a flat look.

“I know you have torn this city apart to force Sara Lance to return to the League. But do you honestly believe Sara will love you if she returns to Nanda Parbat in this manner?” Talia asked pointedly. “No. She will resent you and, in time, she will grow to hate you. And then, years from now, she will attempt to kill you. I have seen it hundreds of times in my life. And, when that happens, either she is successful and father will have her head, or you will be forced to kill her in self-defense. Either way, it will end with Sara’s death.”

Oliver had given Sara the antidote but Sara wasn’t responded.

“Sara? Stay with me. Come on. Come on, stay. Not again,” Oliver pleaded as he, Sin and Laurel watched, desperately hoping Sara would wake.

After a moment, Sara gasped, her eyes flying open, to their relief.

“There is only one way to ensure her survival. And only you have the power to do it,” Talia told Nyssa. 

Looking back at Sara, as Oliver helped her sit up; Nyssa saw the look on Sara’s face as she looked at her. And the fight left Nyssa as she finally accepted her sister’s words. 

“Ta-er al-Sahfer, in the name of Ra's al Ghul, I release you,” Nyssa said in a choked voice.

“Thank you,” Sara said quietly, an unforgiving look on her face as she stared at Nyssa.

Nyssa silently melded into the shadows, leaving them alone.

“Talia-” Oliver started.

“I stepped in in order to prevent you and my sister from killing each other and incurring my father’s wrath. It would be a waste of my training to allow that to happen,” Talia said with a slight smirk. “You are doing well Oliver. Continue to do so.”

Talia then followed her sister, blending into the shadow.

“How normal is this?” Sin asked after a moment.

“More than you’d think,” Sara said breathlessly. 

Arrow lair  
Night

“So, you were trained by Ra’s al Ghul’s other daughter?” Diggle asked as Oliver relayed the whole story to him and Felicity.

“It seems so,” Oliver muttered. “She never told me her last name but, the way she talked, how she fought, even how she knew so much about the League…I’m not sure how I didn’t put it together before.”

“Well, it’s been a long day. I’m gonna take off. See you both tomorrow,” Diggle said as he grabbed his jacket and walked out.

“You okay Felicity?” Oliver asked as he noticed how twitchy she seemed.

“No. I need to tell you something,” Felicity finally said. “I would have told you earlier but with everything going on, there just wasn’t a good time.”

“Felicity,” Oliver interrupted her rambling. “Whatever you need to tell me, tell me.”

“Okay,” Felicity said, taking a deep breath as she put her thoughts together. “Last year, when Walter asked me to investigate Tempest, I left an embedded account alert, programed to tell me if anyone ever accessed it again. Then, four days ago, there was a wire transfer made from Tempest to a numbered account at Starling National Bank." 

“So someone’s accessing Tempest again?” Oliver said on edge.

“Yes. Your mother,” Felicity said and Oliver was confused. “She paid Dr. Gill, her doctor when Thea was born, a substantial amount of money.”

“You know. About Thea,” Oliver said lowly as he put it together.

“Yeah. And I went to confront your mother about it, trying to convince her to tell you-”

“Only to find out I already knew,” Oliver said lowly, Felicity nodding, not liking the look on Oliver’s face. “Why didn’t you come to me about Tempest instead of digging into my family?”

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. And…I was trying to protect you if It was something bad,’ Felicity said lamely.

“Trying to protect me. That’s the same logic my mother used to go along with Merlyn’s plan,” Oliver said, his voice growing colder with each word. “And going to blackmail my mother? What is wrong with you Felicity?! What gave you the right to decide you were God in my family’s life?!” 

“I just…I thought you deserved to know,” Felicity same lamely.

“And you get to decide that? You get to decide what family secrets of my mother’s I deserve to know? Is that it Felicity?” Oliver asked hotly and Felicity had no answer. “You should have come to me about Tempest! You had no right to dig into my mother’s life, into my family!”

“I know,” Felicity said quietly. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

Oliver turned away from her, trying to get his anger under control. Several moments passed before Felicity spoke.

“What are you gonna do now?” Felicity asked.

“Nothing,” Oliver finally said as he turned to face her. “I realize that, in your own way, you were trying to help. Which is the only reason I’m not kicking you out and terminating your employment with Queen Consolidated right now. But let me be very clear Felicity. This is your second chance. There will not be a third.”

Staling General  
Same time

“You’re free now,” Laurel said as she and Sara sat in their father’s room.

“I guess,” Sara said, still in a bit of disbelief. “The League, it may have helped me survive, but it was also kind of a prison. I never really left it. Until now. I don’t know what do now.”

“Well, I think you have the rest of your life to figure it out,” Laurel joked.

Sara’s laugh was cut off by a groan. They turned towards their father’s bed, seeing Quentin shifting as his eyes began to open.

“Dad?” Laurel asked as she walked over to his side.

“Hey sweetie. What happened?” Quentin asked weakly.

“It’s a long story…but there’s somewhere here to see you,” Laurel said as she looked back at Sara.

With a gulp, Sara got to feet and walked over. Quentin paled as he saw her.

“Am I seeing things? Or is that Sara?” Quentin asked lowly.

“It’s me Daddy. I’m here,” Sara said, her voice thick with emotion as she reached out, taking his hand.

“She’s back, she came home,” Laurel said with an emotional smile.

Quentin nearly started sobbing himself as, ignoring the pain in his arms; he pulled both of his daughters into a bone crushing hug.

Arrow lair  
Later

Oliver was taking out his frustrations out on a training dummy when Sara walked in.

“You’ve been crying,” Oliver said, noting her red eyes.

“I was happy to know I still could,” Sara said.

“Are you okay?” he asked in concern.

“Yeah. My dad, he’s awake,” Sara said with a smile.

“That’s good. I’m happy for you Sara,” Oliver said before attacking the dummy again.

“What exactly are you taking out on that dummy?" she inquired.

“Felicity,” Oliver said as he stepped away from the dummy. “She took it upon herself to go digging into my family, decided to try and blackmail my mother.”

“Wow,” Sara said, completely taken back.

“Yeah. It’s gonna be a while until I can trust her completely again,” Oliver agreed. “So what now?”

“I don’t know,” Sara admitted.

“Me either,” Oliver agreed.

“I do know one thing,” Sara said as she stepped closer to Oliver. “I’m home.”

For a moment, it was silent until they rushed forward, kissing passionately as Oliver helped her remove her jacket before she removed her shirt. He pulled her to him as it fell to the floor…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The more I rewatch season two in order to refresh my memory, the more I realize even back then, Guggie had his handiwork slipped in.
> 
> Case in point, Sara, who was trained by the League and knows all their tactics, not only doesn’t search the Assassin working with Nyssa, but somehow can’t stop him from taking the poison. Right.


	35. The Skeleton Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sara readjusts to being back, a new problem emerges.

Clock tower  
Afternoon

Sara and Sin traded blows with wooden Bo staffs, Sara becoming impressed as Sin managed not to break the staffs.

“I’ve been practicing,” Sin said when Sara brought it up. “I’m trying to control it, I want to control it. But it’s still a fifty/fifty success rate, at least that’s what Roy says when he helps me.”

“So you’ve been to see him then?” Sara inquired as they paused.

“Yeah, Jade and I helped him settle in at home. That’s his girlfriend,” Sin said when she saw Sara’s blank stare.

“Right,” Sara said with a nod, remembering seeing Jade as she checked in on Roy after her dad had woken up. “How’s he doing?”

“Well, he can’t bend much without popping a stitch, but he’s alright,” Sin said with a shrug. “I think he’s going a little stir crazy though.”

Roy’s house  
Same time

Roy winced as he put on his shirt. It wasn’t exactly painful but it did feel uncomfortable. Just a few more weeks, Roy told himself. Then he could get back to normal.

“You okay?” Jade asked as she walked in, seeing the wince on his face.

“Fine. I don’t need your help to dress myself,” Roy said annoyed and Jade held up her hands.

“Okay, forgive me for being concerned when my boyfriend is recovering after getting stabbed,” Jade said in a snippy voice and Roy sighed.

“I’m sorry; I know you’re just trying to help. I just…I hate that I have to be helped like a child,” Roy grumbled.

“It’s only for a few weeks. And there might be some advantages,” Jade said, her voice lowering an octave. 

Roy raised an eyebrow as she walked over to him. She raised a hand, placing a hand on his cheek and pulled him into a kiss.

Laurel’s apartment  
Night 

Sara put on her jacket as Laurel walked into the room.

“Dad’s gonna meet us at the party. You ready for this?” Laurel asked.

“As I’ll ever be. Can’t believe I let Ollie talk me into this,” Sara muttered.

“Well, I think sleeping with you gives him some sway,” Laurel joked and Sara froze.

“What?” Sara asked in a choked voice.

“You two give each other googly eyes when you think no one is looking. That along with the way you two have those silent conversation and the way he watches you when you walk away, wasn’t hard to figure out,” Laurel explained.

“And you’re…not mad?” Sara asked carefully after a moment.

“A few years ago, I would have been,” Laurel acknowledged. “A few years ago, I was a different person. Just like you two were when you got on the Gambit. Holding onto that anger, that resentment…it’s exhausting. Besides, only miserable people are mad at happy people.”

Sara laughed as Laurel grabbed her car keys off the hook.

“You ready?” Laurel asked.

Queen Mansion  
Later

Oliver and Thea opened the door to reveal Sara and Laurel standing there, their father standing right behind them. 

“Well, now the party can begin,” Oliver joked as he let them in.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Thea said, hugging Sara before leading them all inside. 

“No Mrs. Lance?” Oliver asked Quentin as they fell behind the girls.

“No, she couldn’t get away from work,” Quentin said, an undertone of anger entering his voice as he remembered his phone call argument with his ex-wife.

Somehow, he doubted they would be speaking again in the near future.

As they entered the room, Sara was almost immediately swept up in a crowd of old school friends. As Quentin and Thea broke off to mingle, Oliver and Laurel found themselves alone.

“How is it having her back?” Oliver asked.

“Better than I imagined,” Laurel said with a smile.

“I’m glad. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you she was back,” Oliver apologized but she waved him off.

“It’s okay, I get protecting a friend’s secret…especially if that person is a bit more than friend,” Laurel said and Oliver stared at her dumbfounded.

“You know?” he asked dumbly and she smiled.

“She’s my sister and you are my best friend. It wasn’t hard to figure out. For people so good at keeping secrets, you two are really bad at hiding how you feel about each other,” Laurel said with a giggle.

“I understand if you’re upset-” Oliver started.

“I’m not,” Laurel said, surprised by how much she meant that. “When everything went down six years ago, we were all just stupid kids. And what you and Sara went through was more than either of you deserved. I think it’s time we let the past stay in the past.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Oliver said with a slight smile.

On the other side of the room, Quentin met up with Moira.

“Madam Mayor,” Quentin joked and she laughed.

“I think it’s a little early to call me that,” Moira said amused.

“Well, considering your only completion is six feet under,” Quentin shrugged and they lapsed into silence for a moment.

"I'm so happy for you Quentin. Those five years that Oliver was gone, was like a piece of me was missing,” Moira said.

“I know what you mean,” Quentin said, pausing as they stopped to look at Oliver and Sara. “You know they’re together right?”

“Without a doubt,” Moira said with a laugh. 

Suddenly, Quentin’s phone rang. Pulling it out, he saw it was work. 

“Excuse me,” Quentin said politely before stepping away and answering. “Lance… I'll be right there."

“Is everything alright?” Moira as he hung up.

“There's a homicide in the Glades, I have to go. Apologize to Oliver for me,” Quentin said apologetically before walking off. 

Across the room, Oliver watched Quentin leave before his own phone rang. He answered it, already knowing it was Felicity.

“I'm on my way."

“How’d you know why I was calling?” Felicity asked in surprise.

“Because Detective Lance just got the same call.”

The Glades  
Later

The Hood approached Quentin in a back alley.

“Good to see you on your feet Detective,” Oliver said, his voice modulator on.

“Well, what I’m gonna say is gonna make you a lot less glad,” Quentin said as he pulled out an evidence bag. “Just pulled this out of a skel I know named Eddie Walczak.”

“Strange knife,” Oliver noted as he took the bag and examined what was in it.

“It’s not a knife, it’s a minute hand,” Quentin said, pulling out his phone and showing Oliver a picture of Walczak’s body. “Like from a clock. I popped Walczak for B and E a few years back. This morning, he and an accomplice were involved in a robbery homicide."

"What'd they steal?" Oliver asked.

"Some high-tech gizmo. Kord rep called it a, um, skeleton key,” Quentin said and Oliver sighed in irritation. “What, you know what it is?”

“It was intended as a military tool to aid in code breaking on foreign intelligence targets. Felicity Smoak works at Queen Consolidated and she said they were working on something similar, but Oliver Queen shut it down once he realized what it could be used for,” Oliver explained.

“What?” Quentin asked wearily, not liking where this was going.

“It could be modified to open a bank vault. Any bank vault,” Oliver said grimly and Quentin paused.

"Ok, listen- Walczak's small-time on a good day. I mean, I doubt he'd even know how to use this thing, let alone break into a place like Kord and steal it on his own,” Quentin pointed out.

“Walczak’s the muscle. We need to find the brain,” Oliver said grimly. 

Arrow lair  
Later

“Where are we with the Skeleton Key?” Oliver asked as he entered lair, finding Felicity, Diggle and Sara already there.

"I'm cross referencing Walczak's known associates with decryption experts on the NSA watch list, but it's taking some time,” Felicity told him. “Whoever killed Walczak, in addition to finding creepy uses for clock parts, is very good at covering his tracks."

“Well, uncovering tracks is supposed to be what we’re good at,” Oliver said irritated. “In the wrong hands, the Skeleton Key isn’t just a tool, it’s weapon.”

“I know. I’m doing the best I can, alright?” Felicity said, just as irritated.

Oliver almost snapped at her but refrained, taking a deep breath. Things were still tense between him and Felicity, something the others had picked up on. Diggle had tried to broach the subject a few times but Oliver had point blank told him to mind his own business. But lashing out at Felicity was not going to help right now.

“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Oliver said after a moment. “But we need to find him and soon.”

Suddenly, Felicity’s phone rang. Seeing Quentin’s phone flash across the screen, she answered almost immediately.

“Detective…okay, great. Not great but you know what I mean. He’s on his way,” Felicity rambled before hanging up. “The SCPD did our job for us for once. There’s a 415 at to Widmeer Bank.”

“And since the Skelton Key can unlock bank vaults, fair to assume it’s this crew,” Diggle noted.

Oliver nodded as he walked over to the suit display, grabbing his bow. 

Widmeer Bank  
Not long after

Tockman’s crew used the Skelton Key to unlock the bank vault and then entered it. 

“Extract as much money as you can in 90 seconds,” Tockman ordered over the Comms as they began loading wads of cash into their bags. “Stop! Get out of there!”

“We still have another twenty seconds,” one of them said in confusion.

“No you don’t,” Tockman said as he stared at footage of The Hood walking inside.

Oliver and Sara entered the bank vault but, to their surprise, it was empty.

"They're already gone,” Oliver said.

“I think I have an idea where,” Felicity said. “The skeleton key operates on an OFDM wireless signal. I'm picking up a transmission signal in the alley next to the bank."

“But you won’t be heading there,” an unfamiliar said over the Comms, startling all of them.

“Who is that?” Oliver demanded.

“He’s hacking our transmission,” Felicity realized in shock.

“My associates may be headed to the alley, but the 9:40 bus from Crescent Circle is about to collide with the Starlight Freight Express,” Tockman told them.

“Oh my God, he’s right,” Felicity said as she realized he had recounted the vehicles. “The 9:40's headed for the track at Amherst." 

“By my calculations, you can’t be in two places at once,” Tockman said gleefully.

“He doesn’t know there’s two of us,” Oliver realized as he looked over at Sara.

Outside the bank, as Tockman’s crew headed towards where he was waiting in the truck, Sara rushed out after them. Seeing her, Tockman pulled out a gun and opened fire. Sara dodged the bullets before separating her baton and throwing one part. It hit him in the forehead, causing him to drop the gun and clutch his wound in pain. Tockman’s men then whirled around and opened fire on Sara. She was forced to take cover behind a nearby dumpster. 

Elsewhere, Oliver was tailing the bus on his motorcycle as Felicity spoke to him on the Comms.

“He's in the transit department network! He's-he's hacked the signaling system. I-I can't get the crossing barriers down!"

Those buses have radios. Can you break in, wave them off?” Oliver asked.

“No, he’s keeping me out!” Felicity cried.

Back with Sara, Tockman’s crew had gotten inside the van and rolled off. Sara emerged from behind the van, picking up her baton, seeing the blood on the edge.

Oliver pulled his motorcycle in front of the van, just in front of the tracks. The driver, realizing what was happening, hit the brakes. The bus skidded to a stop, mere inches from him. A second later, the train rushed passed. The driver stared at the vigilante, realizing he had just saved them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Given how little Dinah Lance seems to care about her daughters, it would not surprise me if she wouldn’t have come to town if she hadn’t already been there.


	36. Fall of the Clock King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow attempts to track down their new target. Roy realizes someone is targeting him.

Verdant  
Night

"I guess it's not real until the media comes up with a nickname,” Sara noted as she and Oliver sat at the bar, watching a news report on the bank robbery with the caption ‘Clock King strikes again’.

Oliver only nodded absently, deep in thought. Sara looked over at him silently for a moment before speaking.

“This isn’t about what happened tonight, is it?” she asked and, after a moment, Oliver spoke.

“No. It’s about Felicity,” he admitted with a sigh. “Before, when I looked at her, I saw my friend. Now…”

“Now all you see is the woman who invaded your family’s privacy and tried to blackmail your mother,” Sara said knowingly and he nodded. “Ollie, I’m not sure what I would do in your position. But you chose to keep her on the team. You’re gonna have to find a way to work with her as long as she is.”

Oliver knew she was right. He didn’t regret his decision to keep Felicity around. Even if he thought Felicity would expose him if he let her go (which he didn’t), keeping her around was better for everyone with Emiko still out there. The question was, how could he put his faith in her if he couldn’t trust her? Oliver didn’t have the answer to that.

Roy’s house  
Same time

Roy walked towards his door as someone banged on it. Opening it, he was surprised to see who was on the other side.

“Thea?” he asked as he stared at his ex-girlfriend, noting she was visibly upset. “You okay?”

“Is your girlfriend around?” Thea asked, deceptively calm as she dodged his question.

“No, she got called into work. Why?” Roy asked uncertainly.

Ignoring his question, Thea stepped inside, and, to his surprise, slapped him.

“Okay, are you on drugs again?” Roy demanded as he held his cheek.

“Is this some kind of sick joke? Is this supposed to be funny?” Thea demanded as Roy heard her voice crack with emotion.

“Thea, what is going on?” Roy asked, realizing something had happened.

“As if you don’t know. But fine, I’ll humor you,” Thea said as she went digging into her purse. “After the party, I went upstairs to my room to change. I found this on my bed.”

Thea pulled out a photograph and held it up so Roy could see. He instantly knew why Thea was so upset. It was of him and Jade, whoever had snapped the picture had done it while they were in the middle of a kiss. 

“And so naturally, you assumed I left it there,” Roy said sarcastically.

“Well, we didn’t exactly part on good terms, did we?” Thea pointed out.

“As I recall it, that was because of your refusal to accept me for who I am,” Roy shot back, instantly regretting the words once they left his mouth. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t fair. Thea, I promise you I did not leave that picture for you to find. I didn’t even know that picture was taken.”

“Well if you didn’t put it in my room, who did?” Thea asked and Roy didn’t have an answer.

Arrow lair  
Same time

"What do we know?" Oliver asked as he and Sara walked into the lair. 

“He hacked into our frequency, somehow gained remote access, but I upgraded our firewall. Now he won't be able to talk into our comms even if he had a bazooka,” Felicity said and Oliver raised an eyebrow at her choice of words. “You know; computer-science wise.”

“In the meantime, I think I might know a way to track him,” Sara said and they looked over as she used a swab to transfer some of the blood on her baton onto a glass slide. “I hit him with this. Should help us narrow it down a bit.”

“I can run in to the lab,” Felicity offered as Sara put the slide under a microscope.

"I spent a year on the freighter studying genetic blood anomalies. I kind of know my way around a microscope,” Sara said as Felicity.

“Oh,” Felicity said, not displeased, just surprised. 

“There's some significant cell damage and the platelet count is extremely low,” Sara said as she stepped away from the microscope. “Felicity, can I use your computer?”

“Um, sure?” Felicity said as more of a question than a statement as Sara sat down, beginning to look into something. 

"Macgregor's Syndrome,” Sara said after she found what she was looking for. “It's a genetic defect that creates fluid build-up in the lungs, which leads to oxygen deprivation and multi system organ failure. It’s terminal.” 

“But the syndrome may give us a way to ID him,” Felicity said, an idea coming to her as she turned around, beginning to type at another computer. “People with Macgregor's are extremely rare, and people with Macgregor's and a degree in computer science are even more rare.” 

After a moment, she had an ID.

“William Tockman. Former encryption engineer at, wait for it- Kord Enterprises," Felicity said.

“What’s the point? He'll be dead before he can spend all the money,” Diggle said confused.

“Because he’s not stealing it for himself,” Felicity said as more information popped up. “He's using it for his family. His sister, specifically. She's got cystic fibrosis and needs a lung transplant."

“Do you have an address?” Oliver demanded.

“Tockman’s last known residence was at 52 Nelson Way.”

Starling City  
Later 

Oliver and Sara pulled up in an alley on separate motorcycles. Getting off, Oliver looked around, his hair standing on end as he saw all the graffiti on the sides of the buildings.

“This doesn’t look very residential,” Oliver noted as Sara spotted something.

“There,” Sara said, pointing to a van parked at the edge of alley. “That’s Tockman’s ride.”

Cautiously, the pair approached it. Oliver notched an arrow as Sara moved towards the door. She yanked it open and Oliver prepared to start questioning Tockman. However, he lowered his bow in surprise as he stared at what was inside.

“Tockman’s not here Felicity. There’s just a router,” Oliver said as he stared at the almost empty van. 

Arrow lair  
Same time

“I’m on it,” Felicity said as she began typing back at the lair. “The router is transmitting the same OFDM signal Tockman used at the bank."

“Can you trace it?”

“As we speak. It’s leading back…to our network,” Felicity paled as she saw the trace lead back to Verdant. “"Tockman's piggybacking off my hack. It's a trap. He-he's trying to break into our network."

“I’m not trying, I am,” Felicity almost jumped at the sound of Tockman’s voice coming through the Comms. "Where are you? Are you home? Are you safe? Somewhere you think you're safe? Somewhere without windows for anyone to creep through? Underground, perhaps? You think no one can get to you? You think no one can touch you in the safety of your hidey hole?"

“Felicity-” Oliver started.

“But I can,” Tockman finished.

Suddenly, the computers lit up in an explosion of sparks. Felicity could barely process this before Diggle grabbed her and got her to safety as everything electronic lite up in an explosion of sparks.

Roy’s house  
Same time

Roy sat, staring at the file folder in his hands, gripping it so tightly he was half surprised that his hands weren’t tearing it to pieces. After Thea had left, Roy had gone into his bedroom, his mind on the picture. He had been stunned to find a file folder on his bed, even more surprising was what had been in the folder.

Putting it down, Roy pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

“Hey, can you meet at my place? I need your help.”

Arrow lair  
Later 

“What happened?” Oliver asked as he and Sara walked down into the darkened lair.

“Tockman used the skeleton key to penetrate our firewall,” Felicity as she was pulling out pieces of hardware from the mainframe, trying to assess the damage. “And recode our security. Basically, he told our system to commit suicide. And it did.” Felicity sighed. “Bravo Clock King.”

“Sara stopped Tockman's men before they could get away with the cash. So Tockman is going to be looking for another score. Maybe we should give him one,” Oliver said after a moment of thought and the others turned to him confused. “Felicity, call Walter and have him liquidate 500,000 shares of Q.C. stock. Put it in cash in my vault at Starling National, and ask him to do it tonight. Then grab your laptop and come on."

“Okay. And where are we going?” Felicity confused as he gave her a grim look.

“Somewhere where I am going to try and trust you again.” 

Roy’s house  
Same time

Roy opened his door, revealing Quentin on the other side.

“Hey, you alright? You sounded pretty freaked out when you called,” Quentin said as he walked into the room.

“Because I am,” Roy said with a shaky breath. “After Sara’s party tonight, Thea went up to her room and fond a picture of me and Jade on her bed.”

“Your new girlfriend,” Quentin noted and Roy nodded.

“She came here, thinking I put it there. She left and I found this on my bed,” Roy said as he picked up the file folder off the couch.

“And what is it?” Quentin asked as Roy handed it to him.

“The report on my father’s death,” Roy said and Quentin looked at him in surprise.

“You never talk much about your father,” Quentin noted.

“Not much to say. He was a soldier in the military; he died when I was eight from friendly fire. Or at least that’s what I’d thought until today,” Roy said as Quentin opened the file. “According to that file, my dad was on an operation when he was killed by an unknown sniper.” 

“Roy…we don’t know where this file came from, or who gave it to you,” Quentin said as he looked up from the file.

“Which is why I called you. Someone is messing me with me, with this file and Thea and Jade. I need your help to figure out who,” Roy said.

Starlin National Bank  
Later

As soon as Tockman’s men entered the bank, Oliver jumped down, firing an arrow. It exploded into iron cables that wrapped around the legs of one of them. He went down to the ground, losing his gun as Oliver engaged the other. Within seconds, Oliver had knocked the man on the ground. Seeing the other one going for his gun, Oliver notched an arrow and fired. The arrow hit the man in the hand, pinning it to the floor and he cried out in pain. Seemingly unnoticed by Oliver, the other man got to his feet, about to strike Oliver when, without turning around, Oliver brought his hand up in a fist and slugged the man. He went down, out cold. 

In front of the bank vault, Felicity was plugged into the network, trying to locate Tockman. Oliver had figured that, if she was on a separate network, she might be able to track Tockman. As she was doing so, she noticed a problem.

“Um, guys? He shut down the gas main release. If it’s not reactivated, it’ll cause an explosion big enough to take out a city block,” Felicity said.

“I’m on it,” Diggle said as he moved towards it.

Felicity began typing, entering the city network. When Tockman had accessed the gas main, he had made a mistake. His signal was easily trackable now.

“Okay, Sara, Oliver, he’s in a building to the left of the bank. Go now!” she ordered.

With a cry of rage, Tockman began gathering his equipment and began heading for the exit. Hearing footsteps, he hid behind a pillar, holding a gun tightly. The Canary entered the room, looking around for him. As her back was turned to him, Tockman jumped out and fired. Sara, having known he was there, dodged the bullets, pulled her baton apart, and threw one half. The staff struck him in the hand, making him drop the gun. Sara then moved in, striking him across the face. He went down, out cold as Sara stared at him blankly.

“I got the gas main working again. It’s over,” Diggle sad over the Comms.

“Yeah…it is,” Sara agreed tonelessly. 

Verdant  
Morning

“Can’t believe its morning already,” Sara told Oliver as she began mixing drinks.

“It’s been a long night,” Oliver agreed.

“So…any closer to trusting Felicity again?” Sara asked after a moment.

“We’ll see. So…why are you mixing drinks?” Oliver asked and she smirked.

“Because I am the new bartender,” Sara said glibly. "I bartended in college, and, uh, well, it's kind of hard to get a job when international assassin is the highlight of your résumé."

“Bartender by day, vigilante by night. I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere,” Oliver chuckled, kissing her on the forehead. “I need to get home. It’s been a long day.”

“Say hi to your mom for me. And apologize about last night,” Sara said and he nodded as he walked out.

Starling City  
Same time

Slade was buttoning his suit jacket as Jade walked in.

“Well?” he asked.

“I put the picture on Thea’s bed and I made sure the file was put on Roy’s. How’d you know he wouldn’t notice me sneaking in if Thea was there?” Jade inquired.

“Matters of the heart tend to blind men. Thea Queen is Mr. Harper’s blind spot,” Slade said as he turned around to face his daughter. “As are you, it seems. He suspects nothing?”

“He’s in the dark,” Jade assured him and Slade nodded, pleased.

“Good. Then it’s time to begin the next phase,” Slade said.

Queen Mansion  
Later in the morning

After showering, Oliver walked down the stairs, meeting his mother in the hall.

“Are you alright? I didn’t hear you come in last night,” Moira said, noticing he looked like he hadn’t slept.

“Dealing with the newest would be bank robber. I’m sure you’ll hear it on the news later,” Oliver said as he noticed Moira was dressed like she was when she was CEO. “Going out?”

“No actually. Someone reached out to Walter, said they were interested in discussing financial support for my campaign. I’m going to have a meeting with them here at the house,” Moira explained before someone rang the doorbell. “That must be them now.”

Oliver and Moira approached the door and Moira opened it. Blood drained from the faces of mother and son as they saw who it was.

“Mrs. Queen, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Slade Wilson,” Slade said with a charming smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll be blunt, 2x14 is easily the worst episode of season two. And it’s not even about the horrible Laurel addiction Arc, although that certainly made the episode a lot worse. No, what really hurt this episode was the forced and contrived Felicity drama.
> 
> Felicity being insecure over Sara joining the team made no sense whatsoever. Sara and Felicity have very different strengths, Felicity did not expect Sara to shove her out of the way and start hacking something. Felicity’s place on the team was not threatened in the slightest by Sara joining. It made it come off that Felicity wants to be the only girl on the team and in Oliver’s life, which is not just ridiculous, but untrue, as we see in later seasons. And don’t even get me started on the contradictions and stupidity of Felicity ‘saving’ Sara.
> 
> 2x14 was less an episode of Arrow and more like Guggenheim’s weird fanfiction. The only good thing to come of it was that cliffhanger.


	37. Slade's promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver reels as he finds out Slade is alive when Slade drops by his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not entirely proud of this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoy it.

Queen Mansion  
Mid-morning

“What are you doing here?” Oliver blurted out, in shock at seeing Slade alive.

“Didn’t your mother tell you? I’m here to discuss m financial support of her campaign,” Slade said, playing the role of well-meaning business man perfectly.

“You’ll have to forgive my son, he didn’t get much rest last night,” Moira said, swallowing passed her shock.

She wanted nothing more than to slam the door in Slade’s face, get him away from her son, from her daughter who was just upstairs. But she knew she needed to be smart about this. If half the things Arsenal, Rene and Mia had told them about Slade were true, tipping him off would not end well for any of them.

“I understand, the stress of being a CEO can be time consuming,” Slade acknowledged, Oliver seething as he stared at Slade silent. “I’ve brought a gift, if that’s quiet alright.”

Slade held out a bottle of Australian Rum to Moira. As she took it, Oliver stared, his mind taken back to when he, Slade and Sara had shared a drink of it on Lian Yu five years ago. 

“How generous,” Moira said, swallowing the lump in her throat, seeing Oliver’s reaction out of the corner of her eye. “Please, do come in.”

Slade flashed a charming a smile as he walked in. Oliver closed the door behind him, his mind racing as he tried to figure a way out of this. 

“Are you alright Mr. Queen? You look a little piqued,” Slade said, feigning concern. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” Oliver said stiffly.

“I will…have the staff put this in the wine cellar,” Moira said as she glanced down at the Rum.

“Please, won’t you two have a drink with me? I insist,” Slade said with a charming smile.

“Of course,” Moira said after a subtle nod from Oliver. “I will have the staff fetch us some glasses.”

Moira walked off with the bottle. After a moment, Slade whirled around, catching Oliver’s wrist, stopping him from stabbing Slade with a flechette.

“Not yet kid,” Slade said smugly, applying enough pressure on Oliver’s wrist to make him drop the flechette. “I’ve yet to meet the rest of your family.”

Slade released Oliver’s wrist as the two heard footsteps. Oliver paled as he saw Thea walk down the stairs. Quickly, Oliver hid the flechette from view by stepping on it. There was no telling what Slade would do if he figured out that Thea knew his secret. 

“Hey Ollie, thanks for bailing on the…” Thea trialed off, the blood leaving her face as she saw Slade.

“You must be Thea. My name is Slade Wilson, I’m here to discuss your mother’s budget proposal,” Slade said politely as he walked over, offering a hand.

“Nice to meet you,” Thea said weakly, the shock of seeing Slade still not having worn off.

It was at this moment that Moira returned to them. Her heart stopped as she saw Thea. She had to get Thea out of there.

“Thea, shouldn’t you be at work?” Moira asked.

“Yes, yes I should,” Thea said lowly, realizing what her mother was trying to do. “I was just on my way out.”

“Well, don’t let us keep you. I’m sure your mother, brother and I have much to discuss,” Slade said casually but the Queens could hear the veiled threat in his voice.

“I’m sure you do,” Thea said, trying for politely but it ended up as just grim.

Without another word, Thea rushed out the door. Closing the door behind her, she pulled out her phone as she frantically dialed a number she knew by heart.

Roy’s house  
Same time

“I reached out to some old buddies of mine in the FBI,” Quentin told Roy as they sat at the kitchen table, the file between them. “They couldn’t tell me much, but after some asking around, they were able to confirm that what happened to your father wasn’t friendly fire. He was on an OP with his unit when something went down; no one seems to know what. And those who do aren’t talking. It was covered up, they don’t know by who.”

“So he was murdered,” Roy said after a moment.

“I’m sorry Roy,” Quentin said apologetically.

Before Roy could respond, his phone started ringing. With a sigh, he pulled it out. He frowned as he saw Thea’s picture flash across the screen, wondering what she could want to talk to him about.

“Thea?” Roy answered.

“Slade, he’s here. He’s at my house,” Thea said and Roy’s blood ran cold.

“What?” Roy demanded and Quentin looked at him sharply, wondering what was going on.

“I just walked downstairs and he was there. He’s posing as some benefactor for my mom’s campaign,” Thea rambled, out of her mind with worry.

“Okay, get out of there, I got this,” Roy said before hanging up.

“What’s going on?” Quentin asked.

“Slade is at Oliver’s house,” Roy said and Quentin paled. “He’s with Oliver and his mother.”

“Well then we gotta call Sara,” Quentin said immediately.

“And when she asks you how you know who he is, what are you gonna say? No, we need to handle this ourselves,” Roy said.

Not long after, Roy pulled a case out from under his bed, opening it to reveal a a Robar RC-50 .50 sniper rifle.

“Where did you get this?” Quentin asked in shock.

“I stole it, years ago. You never know what you might sell in The Glades. Think you can make the shot?” Roy asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Quentin said darkly. 

Queen Mansion  
Not long after

Moira sat on the couch, reading the file Slade had brought with him. Despite herself, she was impressed. Crazy may he be; Slade certainly knew his way around a board room.

“This is…impressive Mr. Wilson,” Moira said after a moment.

“Please, I simply wish to help. What Starling City needs is a pro-business mayor, especially after the recent death of Alderman Blood,” Slade said, playing the part of business man to perfection.

In the corner of the room, Oliver barely restrained himself from clenching his hands into fists. His only comfort was that, somehow, his mother seemed to understand just how dangerous Slade was.

At that moment, Raisa wheeled in the drinking cart, Slade’s Rum along with three glasses on top of it.

“I propose a drink,” Slade said, getting to his feet as he walked over to the cart. “Mr. Queen, won’t you join us?”

“Of course,” Oliver said, knowing Slade didn’t go through all this effort to end with him poisoning Oliver. 

“Wonderful,” Slade said jovially as he opened the bottle and poured three glasses.

“What should we drink to?” Moira asked, her heart hammering in her chest as Slade handed her and Oliver a glass.

“To friendship,” Slade toasted before taking a drink.

Oliver and Moira both took a drink in suit. Under normal circumstances, Moira would have found it delicious. Right now, all she wanted was to get this man out of her house. 

“This here is a beautiful piece,” Slade said, putting his drink down and walking over to the model of a sailing boat in the corner of the room. “Tell me, does your family spend much time on the water?”

“No,” Moira said, seeing though Slade’s taunts. “Not since my late husband’s passing.”

“I’m sorry, forgive me Mrs. Queen,” Slade said, making a show of looking regretful at opening an old wound. “I do remember reading about that accident in the paper.” Slade then looked over at Oliver. “You were a brave soul.”

“I don’t like to talk about it,” Oliver said lowly, meeting Slade’s gave evenly.

“I can understand. All that time on that island, it must have been hell for you,” Slade said as he and Oliver stared each other down. 

The room was silent for a moment before Slade moved over to admire a painting near the edge of the room.

“You know, I heard that your family has an affinity with the fine arts,” Slade noted.

"Yes, my husband amassed quite the collection of 19th century American landscapes,” Mora said, wondering what Slade was getting at.

“I would love to see them,” Slade said.

“Another time perhaps. Unfortunately, my son and I have some personal matters to discuss,” Moira said, trying to get Slade out.

“Of course. Another time,” Slade said, backing off to her relief. “I believe I should be going.”

“Mr. Wilson,” Oliver spoke up and Slade looked over at him. “May I walk you to your car?”

Outside, as Oliver and Slade walked out, neither of them saw Quentin, holding Roy’s gun as he took aim at Slade. But, before he could take the shot, someone struck him from behind. He went down, out cold.

“The Hoods, China White, The man in the skull mask, the Ninth Circle, this was all you,” Oliver said and Slade smirked.

“Well, you’re mostly right. The Ninth Circle had its own agenda until recently. Your sister made me an offer I could not refuse,” Slade chuckled as Oliver looked at him.

“Laurel was right, wasn’t she? Blood was the man in the skull mask,” Oliver said and Slade smirked.

“He was useful until he became a liability. Then your sister became more useful,” Slade said simply. “Emiko seems to hate you even more than I do. I suppose you could say we are kindred spirits.”

They stopped as they reached Slade’s car. Slade opened the door before Oliver spoke.

“Slade,” Slade turned back to face his former friend. “What do you want?”

Silently, Slade got into his car and slammed the door in Oliver’s face. Starting it, Slade then rolled down the window before turning to Oliver.

“Five years ago, I made you a promise. Do you remember?” Slade asked and Oliver only stared at him silently. “Well, I’m here to fulfil it. See you around kid.”

Rolling up his window, Slade then drove off. Oliver stared after his car, waiting until it disappeared from view. Then, after a few moments, Oliver turned and walked back into the mansion.

Moira was waiting for him, sitting in the lounge. She looked up as he reentered the room.

“Oliver,” Moira said as he got to her feet. “Who is he? I saw the way you reacted once you saw him. You know who he is, don’t you?”

“I do,” Oliver admitted with a sigh. “It’s…a long story. The short version is that I met him on the island. He saved my life…more than once. A lot of the lessons I learned those five years, he taught me. And then he tried to kill me and promised to do the same thing to you, Thea, Laurel and everyone I love.”


	38. Dante part one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Arrow teams up with Argus in order to track down a in to the Ninth Circle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get into the chapter, I will say upfront that 2x16 did not happen. I will reveal later on what happened with the Qadir situation, but it just didn’t work for the story.

_Oliver found himself standing in a clearing. He realized with a start he was back on Lian Yu when a voice spoke up behind him._

_“I’ve missed you.”_

_With a start, Oliver whirled around, seeing Shado standing a few feet from him._

_“Shado?” Oliver breathed. “You’re-you’re dead.”_

_“Yes, I am. Because you chose Sara over me,” Shado said, anger coloring her voice. “Why didn’t you choose me? Why didn’t you choose me?!”_

_Oliver gasped as Shado stabbed him in the chest, over and over again as she kept asking ‘why didn’t you choose me’ repeatedly. _

Oliver’s eyes snapped open as he sat up in bed, breathing heavily. Just a dream. No, not a dream, the dream. The same dream he’d been having since Slade’s visit to his home. Oliver ran a hand over his face just before his phone vibrated where it sat by his bed side. Picking it up, he saw he had a text.

‘it’s time’ it read.

Starling City

Later in the morning

In one of the seeder parts of Starling City, Oliver sat in a restaurant at a table in the back, waiting for his guest to arrive. After a few minutes of waiting, they did, sliding into the seat across from him.

“This is the second time you call me to Starling City in less than year. Last time I had to shoot Captain for not following orders,” Anatoly noted. “I hardly think you called me here for social visit.”

“You’re right, I didn’t. This wasn’t something I wanted to tell you over the phone,” Oliver said and Anatoly raised an eyebrow. “Slade Wilson. He’s alive.”

“That is impossible. You stabbed him in the eye,” Anatoly said, all the blood leaving his face.

“And it didn’t take. He showed up at my mother’s house last week. He’s coming after my family and friends Anatoly,” Oliver said grimly. “You know I would not normally involve the Bratva in what I do here, but-”

“Say no more brother. Wilson is monster who must be stopped. Whatever you need, just ask,” Anatoly said earnestly.

“Thank you. I need you to have someone followed,” Oliver said, reaching into his jacket pocket.

Pulling out a photo, he put it on the table and slid it across to Anatoly. Picking it up, Anatoly’s eyebrows raised as he saw who it was.

“You know who this, da?” Anatoly asked as he looked up at Oliver.

“Why do you think I called you?” Oliver asked blankly.

“Nothing is ever simple with you Oliver. I shall have my men follow from a distance. At times like these, I yearn for Kovar,” Anatoly said dryly.

“So do I,” Oliver said with a grim smile. 

Not long after, Oliver was walking towards his motorcycle when his hair stood on end. Whirling around, he was surprised at who he saw.

“Amanda,” Oliver greeted as Waller smirked.

“Hello Oliver. Don’t look so surprised, you asked me to look into the Ninth Circle after all,” Waller said and Oliver started.

“You found something?” Oliver asked and she nodded.

“Call your team. Not just John Diggle and Felicity Smoak, Sara Lance and Roy Harper as well. I have a feeling we’re going to need all of them,” Waller said.

Roy’s house

Not long after

Roy was staring down at his father’s file, deep in though when his phone rang, startling him. Seeing Oliver’s picture flash across the screen, Roy answered.

“What’s up? Any news on Slade?” Roy asked.

“No, but we might have a lead on the Ninth Circle. Be ready to leave in twenty seconds, they’re on their way to pick you up,” Oliver said before hanging.

Roy stared down at his phone, confused before there was a knock on his door. Pocketing his phone, Roy walked over and answered it. On the other side were two men in suits. Behind them, Roy could see a car, much nicer than anyone in the Glades could afford, parked in his driveway.

“Mr. Harper, we’ll need you to come with us. Mr. Queen is waiting,” one of them said.

Argus base

Later

“This is so cool,” Felicity geeked out as Team Arrow stood in the control room with Waller and Lyla.

“You said this was about the Ninth Circle,” Oliver pointed out and Waller nodded.

“As you said, they’re elusive. But I was able to track them to a man named Dante, a terrorist financer, or so he appears. Unfortunately, he likes to stay out of the spotlight. But he has an intermediary, a man known as Virgil,” Waller said as the image of the named known as Virgil appeared on the screen.

“So how do we find this Virgil?” Diggle asked.

“Already taken care of Johnny. A recent associate of ours has done business with Virgil before. He just has to make the call,” Lyla explained.

“Associate. What a polite way to say ‘forced recruit’,” Oliver said grimly as he glared at Waller. “I remember when I was an ‘associate’ of Argus.”

“You reached out to me for help Oliver. Like it or not, we need each other,” Waller pointed out.

Oliver glared at her, seething. As much as he hated her, Oliver knew she right. If he wanted to get closer to the Ninth Circle, to Emiko and Slade, he would need to play this game for now.

“Alright, fine. We’ll do things your way now,” Oliver said through gritted teeth.

“So who’s this ‘associate’ of yours?” Sara asked after a moment, the tension between Oliver and Waller making everyone uncomfortable.

Not long after, Waller and Lyla led Team Arrow down the hall into a cell block.

“I’ve been trying to put together a team, which has proven difficult when most of my hopefuls end up dead at the end of your bow,” Waller said with a look at Oliver that he ignored. “I call it Task Force X.”

“Give me a break. This aint no task force.”

Diggle stiffened as a cell door was opened and man with an eyepatch was led out. Oliver had a look of disgust on his face and Felicity looked uncomfortable as Sara and Roy looked confused.

“Call it what it is Waller. The Suicide Squad,” Floyd Lawton said with a smirk.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Diggle growled as he glared at Waller. “Him? What, OJ and Charles Manson weren’t available?”

“Johnny,” Lyla said and Diggle looked at her. “I understand how you feel, I do, but Lawton is our only link to Virgil.”

“I’ve done some jobs for Virgil over the years,” Lawton said with a smirk as his cuffs were removed by the guards.

“Yeah, I bet you have,” Diggle scoffed, glaring at Waller. “This man killed my brother!”

“Which does not change the fact that we need him to get to Virgil,” Waller said, unmoved.

“She’s right,” Oliver, looking like h just swallowed a lemon as Diggle turned to him in shock.

“Oliver-” Diggle started.

“I understand John, really I do, but, and it pains me to say this, Waller is right. We need Lawton to get to Virgil. And I’m sure there’s some sort of contingency in place in case Lawton goes rogue,” Oliver said as he glared at Waller. “Since you can’t threaten innocent civilians, I’m gonna guess a bomb in his head?”

“I suppose great minds think alike Oliver,” Waller said with a smirk.

“No, I just know how you think,” Oliver said in disgust.

It was clear that Diggle wasn’t happy about this but nodded, conceding that they needed Lawton for now.

Later, the group stood in the briefing room, going over the mission.

“So Lawton gets us the meet, then what?” Oliver asked.

“He doesn’t get you the meeting Oliver. Oliver Queen is too public a figure I’m afraid. This is why I needed them,” Waller said as he looked at the surprised Sara and Roy. “Miss Lance and Mr. Harper will be going in as Deadshot’s employers, who wish to discuss business with Virgil.”

“No, out of the question,” Oliver said immediately. “Roy’s still recovering from getting stabbed.”

“I’m fine Oliver. And like you said, we need to get to Virgil,” Roy pointed out.

“Ollie, this might be our only shot at getting Intel on the Ninth Circle. Roy and I can take care of ourselves. Trust us,” Sara told him.

He trusted them just fine, Oliver thought grimly as he glanced at Waller and Lawton. It was Waller and Lawton he didn’t trust. But it looked like he didn’t have much of a choice.

Starling City

Night

Roy, in a suit, and Sara, dressed in a black jump suit, followed Lawton as they were let into the building. As the doors closed behind them, they were locked by an electric lock.

“Nice place,” Roy mentioned as he looked around, eying the various people in the room. “Really has that whole ‘criminal underworld’ thing going for it.”

“Used to be a Triad hangout until the cops got wind of it after that business with Bertinelli last year,” Lawton explained. “After it was raided, Virgil took it over.”

“Keep focused on the mission,” Waller said over the Comms. “Remember, your objective is to locate Virgil and have him agree to work together.”

“Where is he anyway?” Sara wondered.

“Floyd Lawton.”

At the sound of the accented voice, the trio whirled around. Virgil approached, a charming smile on his face. Yeas of experience told Sara something was up just from the look in his eye.

“After that business in Russia, I never thought I’d see you again,” Virgil said as he and Lawton shook hands.

“Well Virgil, you know I’m the best at what I do,” Lawton said as they dropped hands.

Argus base

Same time

In the control room, Oliver, Waller, Diggle, Lyla and Felicity watched from a body cam on Sara’s suit as Virgil led the others over to a corner.

“No bodyguards, that’s a good sign. Lawton, you just have to make him agree,” Lyla told him.

Starling City

Same time

“I was happy to get your call Floyd,” Vigil said as he sat down. “My employer wishes to inquire when you’ll pay your debt. Russia demands a price.”

“Well, my new employers have an offer, one that will more than pay what I owe,” Lawton said as he glanced over at Roy and Sara.

“Intriguing,” Virgil said, flipping a gold coin. “It’s too bad it wasn’t made in good faith.”

Suddenly, several people pulled out weapons, aiming at Roy, Sara and Lawton. As they realized the situation they were in, Virgil got to his feet and aimed a gun at Lawton’s head.

“Kill them,” he ordered. “Except for Mr. Lawton. Dante will deal with him personally tonight.” 

Argus base

Same time

“Shit shit shit,” Felicity said worriedly as Oliver and Lyla paled while Waller looked displeased and Diggle clenched his hands into fists.

Starling City

Same time

As Virgil began forcing Lawton towards the exit, the criminals in the room rushed towards Sara and Roy. Sara pulled out two knives, engaging two men as Roy pulled out a gun, opening fie. He hit a man in the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. Roy then kicked him in the abdomen, causing him to drop the sword. Roy picked it up before using it to block the strike of another man’s sword.

“Don’t let Virgil leave,” Waller said over the Comms.

Roy pushed back, kicking his opponent down as Sara stabbed hers in the legs, causing them to fall to their knees as they pursued Virgil. As more men rushed them, Roy shot one of them as Sara threw a knife, stabbing one in the leg. Roy whirled around, striking one in the temple with the hilt of his sword, knocking them out as Sara picked up a sword from one of the men she and Roy had taken out. She was a whirl of movement, cutting down men (non-fatally) left and right. Roy could only watch in a bit of awe as, within a minute, every last one of them were down for the count.

Seeing Virgil leading Lawton towards the exit, Sara threw one of her knives, which hit the electronic lock, trapping them. Virgil stopped just before Lawton elbowed him in the face. Taking advantage of Virgil’s distraction, Lawton grabbed for the gun. The wrestled for it for a few moments before Lawton yanked it away from Vigil and punched him in the face. Virgil stumbled back and, realizing he was surrounded, turned and ran.

“Nowhere to run Virgil,” Lawton said with a smirk as Virgil ran towards the corner.

“Treachery earns the worst punishment Floyd. Dante will make sure you get what you deserve,” Virgil taunted him.

Then, with a laugh, Virgil ran for a nearby window. He crashed through the glass before they could do anything. The trio rushed over but saw no sign of him.

“He got away,” Sara said regretfully. “The op failed.”

Argus base, next day

Morning

“Is all this really necessary?” Lawton asked as he, Oliver, Diggle, Waller and Lyla stood in the briefing room, Lawton’s hands cuffed to the table.

“Until we figure out how you tipped off Virgil, then yes,” Lyla said and Lawton stared at her incredulously.

“What, you think I warned him?”

“You’re the one who set up the meeting. Maybe ‘Dante will deal with him personally’ was code for ‘get Deadshot out before things go to Hell’,” Diggle sneered.

“Regardless, I’m going to be viewing your phone call with Virgil, looking for coded phrases,” Waller said.

“You’ll be wasting your time Amanda,” Oliver said and they all looked at him. “He didn’t do it.”

“Thank you,” Lawton said sarcastically.

“What makes you so sure Oliver?” Waller demanded.

“Because he’s a lot of things, stupid is not one of them. Lawton knows even if he had gotten away, you would’ve activated the bomb in his head and you wouldn’t lose any sleep over killing him. It doesn’t make sense for him to tip off Virgil,” Oliver argued and Waller looked thoughtful.

“You know, instead of blaming me, you should look a little closer to home,” Lawton said and they all looked back at him. “How many agents do you have on this op anyway? Long list of suspects you got there.”

“That’s absurd,” Waller scoffed.

“No, it’s not,” Sara said with horror. “This is how the Ninth Circle operates; they place agents within whichever Regime they’re trying to topple so that they can help bring it down from the inside.”

“We have dozens of agents in the building, any one of them could have warned Virgil,” Lyla paled as the realization hit her. “Argus has been compromised.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It honestly wouldn’t surprise if Lawton had been hired by the Ninth Circle at some point or another. 
> 
> Hope the fight scenes were okay.


	39. Dante part two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara confronts Oliver about Slade as Team Arrow teams up with Lawton to take down Dante.

Verdant  
Afternoon

Oliver was nursing a glass of scotch as he sat at the bar, deep in thought. Behind the bar, Sara eyed him for a moment before speaking.

“I’ve been trying to give you your space, waiting for you to open up,” She said and he looked up at her. “But you’re not eating; I know you’re not sleeping. And when you do, your mom and Thea tell me you have nightmares. You can’t keep going like this Ollie.”

“I have to as long as Slade is out there Sara. You know what he is capable of,” Oliver argued immediately.

“Which is why you need to take care of yourself. If you keep going like this, Slade will win no matter what you do. The nightmares…they’re about Shado, aren’t they?” Sara asked and Oliver’s silence was her answer. "You did what you had to do, ok? Ivo was going to shoot Shado, or me, or both of us. It was an impossible choice."

“And I made it anyway,” Oliver snapped.

“I knew Ivo better than anyone. No matter what, he was gonna kill Shado,” Sara revealed and he looked at her confused. “She was the obvious threat, he was gonna kill her to take her off the board. It took me a long time to see him for what he was, even longer to accept that. But that is the truth Ollie. Ivo was a psychopath and Shado’s death is not on you.”

“Maybe...but Slade is,” Oliver said after a moment. “When Ivo shot missiles at the island, I ran towards Shado. Slade followed me, probably trying to stop me from getting myself killed. That’s how he got hurt. If I hadn’t been so reckless…maybe Slade wouldn’t have needed to be injected with the Mirakuru, maybe everything would be different.”

“Ollie, you are torturing yourself, trying to find some way to blame yourself for Slade. Here are the facts: Slade is a monster. He is coming after us and our families. And if you keep running yourself ragged, Slade will win, every time. Slade is trying to get in your head and you are letting him. And as long as you do, it doesn’t matter if Slade is still out there or not, you’ve already lost,” Sara said passionately.

For a moment, the bar was silent, save for Sara’s breathing. Oliver stared at her, a blank look on his face before his phone buzzed with a text. 

“It’s Felicity,” Oliver said after pulling it out. “She’s got something on Virgil.”

Not long after, Oliver and Sara walked down into the lair, where Felicity, Roy, Diggle and Lyla were already waiting for them.

“What do you have?” Oliver demanded as they made their way over to the computers.

“This,” Felicity said as she brought a 3D image of a golden coin. “Recognize it Sara?”

“Yeah, Virgil had it when Roy, Lawton and I met him,” Sara remembered as Roy nodded.

“13th century gold. Or so he would have everyone believe. It’s a fake,” Felicity said as a green square centered in on the center, revealing something inside. “There’s a microchip hidden inside. But what’s more interesting is what’s in it.”

“Vigil was using it as a storage device for all kinds of data, including forged credentials to the Markovian embassy. There’s a delegation there tonight with a guest of honor you may recognize Johnny,” Lyla said as Felicity pulled up an image that made Diggle almost start.

“Gholem Qadir. I thought he was locked up,” Diggle said in shock.

“DOD turned Qadir loose a few years ago. Since then, he’s reinvented himself as a humanitarian while keeping up his old habits on the side. Earlier in the week, Waller sent in a team to take out a nerve agent that killed men, woman and children,” Lyla explained. “Qadir lost everything.” 

“And now he wants to make a deal with Dante to start it all up again,” Roy realized.

“We can assume so. Given that ARGUS may have been compromised, we’d like to ask for your help in bringing in Dante,” Lyla said.

“We’d love to help, but one problem: none of us know what Dante looks like,” Oliver pointed out.

“But we know someone who does,” Lyla said uncomfortably as she looked over at Diggle, who knew who she was talking about immediately.

“Lawton,” he said in a growl.

“He’s the only one who’s laid eyes on Dante. It’s a complicated world Johnny,” Lyla said tiredly as Oliver began to get an idea on why Diggle and Lyla had gotten divorced. 

“She’s right,” Oliver said and Diggle looked at him incredulously. “Lawton is the only one who knows what Dante looks like. Dante is our only lead on Emiko and Slade right now. We don’t have a choice John. Tell Waller we’ll do it.”

Markovian embassy   
Night

“Canary on sight,” Sara said over the Comms as she walked through the crowd.

“I see eleven, twelve guards in this room alone,” Diggle said as he surveyed the room. “We’ll need to move on Dante immediately after the meet.”

“Agreed,” Oliver’s modulated voice said over the Comms. “Copy that Deadshot?”

“Copy Mr. Arrow,” Lawton said mockingly from where he stood by the cabinet of artifacts. “Can’t wait for you to meet Dante.”

“Joke all you want, when this is over, it’s me and you,” Diggle said in a growl. 

“Enough fighting,” Oliver barked over the Comms. “Remember the objective. Overwatch, what’s your status?”

“First, loving the codename. Second, the feed is live but five cameras are down in the southeast corridor,” Felicity said over the Comms.

“Three guesses why,” Diggle said dryly.

“It’s where the meet will happen and Dante doesn’t want eyes on it. It’s classic Dante,” Lawton noted. 

“Qadir is here,” Diggle said as he saw the man moving through the crowd with some bodyguards. 

“We need to move, now,” Sara ordered.

“I agree. Everyone, converge at the south corridor,” Oliver ordered.

Not long after, Qadir met with Virgil, who led him into a room. From the other side entered a bearded man in a suit.

“Mr. Qadir, at last we meet,” Dante said as they shook hands.

“Lawton, that him?” Diggle asked as they all watched from a distance.

“Yep, Dante’s not someone you forget meeting,” Lawton muttered as he stared at Dante grimly. “This better work or I’ll actually pay Waller to blow off my head.”

Dante and Qadir sat across from each other as Qadir’s guards stood watch.

“I understand you wish to make a deal,” Dante said. “And under normal circumstances, I would be interested. However, you are simply a pawn. Forgive me.”

Without warning, Virgil suddenly pulled out a pistol and shot Qadir’s guards in the head, killing them instantly. Quad didn’t even have time to turn and look before Dante pulled out a knife and threw it at him. It stuck him in the chest as Virgil opened fire at where Sara and Diggle were stationed.

“We’ve been made!” Diggle shouted over the Comms. 

Dante stood up and walked over to Qadir’s lifeless body, removing the knife before walking off as Virgil kept Sara and Diggle at bay by firing at them. However, he was suddenly thrown back as a bullet him in the head, killing him almost instantly as Lawton lowered his gun.

“Dante’s headed for the south exit, let’s move,” Lawton barked, his heart racing.

Outside, Dante exited the building when hi hair stood on end. Pulling out twin daggers, he cut down an arrow, stopping it just in time. Several feet from him, The Hood stood in his path, aiming another bow at him.

“Mr. Queen. Your sister sends her regards,” Dante said mockingly. 

The two rushed each other, Oliver whirling his bow as Dante tried to strike him with his knives. Oliver blocked with bow before sending a spinning kick towards Dante’s face. Dante was struck in the face and stumbled back as Oliver tried to strike him with his bow. Dante ducked before sending a kick towards Oliver’s face. Oliver dodged this before grabbing Dante’s arm and tossing hm into the side of the building. Dante got up before a shot rang out. He was hit in the neck with a tranq dart, stumbling back before falling to the ground. Oliver looked over, seeing Lawton standing there with a nod.

ARGUS base  
Later

“With Dante in custody, we may have a link to the Ninth Circle,” Waller said as she, Oliver, Diggle, Sara and Lyla stood in the control room. “But he’s not talking. And if what Floyd Lawton said is true, that ARGUS has been infiltrated, I think its best we keep him somewhere off book until he’s ready to talk.”

“Seems the best course of action, considering how prepared Virgil and Dante were for us,” Lyla noted. “We have no idea how deep this goes.”

“Just one problem,” Oliver said as they all looked over at him. “I trust you Amanda about as much as I trust a tiger not to eat me alive. I’m not letting you put my only lead somewhere I can’t get to him.”

“I know. Which is why I have a compromise,” Waller said and Oliver raised an eyebrow. “Let Mr. Diggle come with me as I put him away. He can monitor what happens and report back to you as we interrogate Dante.”

For a long moment, it was silent. Then, Oliver looked over at Diggle, who looked stunned.

“What do you think?” Oliver finally asked. 

“I think it sounds crazy, as crazy as this whole thing. But, it might be our only chance at getting close to Emiko and Slade. So I’ll go,” Diggle said, looking like he’d just swallowed a lemon.

“Good. Then we’re all in agreement,” Amanda said smugly. “Say your goodbyes Mr. Diggle. This may be the last time you see your friends for a while.”

Arrow lair  
Later

“So Dig’s off with Amanda Waller? What kind of sick, twisted world are we living in?” Felicity muttered as Sara and Oliver told her and Roy the whole story.

“I don’t like it any better than you Felicity, but it was the best option,” Oliver said with a sigh. “It’s been a long night. I think you should both go home, get some rest. We pick up here in the morning.”

“I’d say let’s get to work, but tomorrow’s my first day back at the bar, so I kind of need to get some sleep. I’ll see you guys in the afternoon,” Roy said, waving at them before walking off.

“I can’t believe this is my life now,” Felicity muttered before following after Roy, leaving Oliver and Sara alone.

“You were right,” Oliver said once they were alone and Sara looked at him curiously. “I was letting Slade win. Not anymore.”

“Good. Because if we’re gonna stop him, you’re gonna need to be at one hundred percent,” Sara said and Oliver nodded.

“I’ve been letting him win. Now, it’s time to fight back,” Oliver said darkly.

Plane  
Same time

In the back of the plane, Diggle and Waller stood facing Dante, who stared at them blankly. His hands were wrapped in chains, which were bound to the floor.

“What are you gonna do with him?” Diggle asked Waller.

“Once we reach our destination, we need to make him talk. By whatever means necessary,” Waller said stoically. “Dante is someone who deals only in extreme measures Mr. Diggle. It would be naïve to think anything less than extreme measures will break him.”

“Ms. Waller,” an ARGUS agent said as he and one other agent entered the room. “We’ve set course.”

“Good,” Waller said as she turned back to Dante. “It’s time for him to be useful.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

Dante smirked as Diggle, Waller and the two agents whirled around. A dark haired woman entered the room, Diggle and the two agents each pulling out a pistol and taking aim.

“Who are you? How’d you get on his plane?” Waller demanded as she stepped forward and the woman only smirked.

“I thought the director of ARGUS would know all about me. My name is Isabel Rochev. As to how I got on, one of your agents let me in. You have no idea how deep the Ninth Circle has infiltrated ARGUS,” Isabel said with a smirk.

Suddenly, two shots rang out. Waller was stunned to see her agents fall to the floor, each with a bullet wound in their head. She whirled around to see Diggle aiming his gun at her just before he pulled the trigger.

She was hit in the chest and immediately fell to the ground, pain paralyzing her. She gasped weakly as Diggle walked over until he was standing over her. He then aimed his gun at her and pulled the trigger two more times, shots ringing out. She did not move again.

For a moment, there was only silence. Then, Dante let out a chuckle of amusement. 

“Well done. Welcome back Mr. Diggle,” Dante said and Diggle chuckled.

“Sir, I think we both know I never left the Ninth Circle.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Diggle being a member of the Ninth Circle was something that occurred to me as I was trying to figure out a way to make the Ninth Circle more than just Slade and Emikio’s goons. But, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
> 
> Diggle being a Ninth Circle spy would certainly explain quite a few of his actions over the years: his tendency to hold grudges against Oliver, his advice to Oliver benefiting him far more than Oliver, his outright refusal to take Oliver’s advice on several occasions, his flexible loyalty to Oliver, his inability to understand certain situations or decisions those close to him make that a soldier should understand, his hypocritical judgement of morally grey decisions Oliver and Lyla make while making morally grey decisions himself, his extreme reaction to Oliver taking back the hood, his tendency to blame Oliver for things that are not his fault, the list goes on and on. Diggle being a Ninth Circle spy would just explain so much.
> 
> And to the inevitable Diggle fanboy who will tell me that Diggle is Oliver’s true brother and blah blah blah: I’ve made it very clear by now that I don’t see Diggle as a good friend to Oliver, much less a brother, nor do I have a high opinion of Diggle as a character. The fact you’ve continued to read my stories knowing my views and then leave me hate mail says far more about you than it does about me. 
> 
> Anyway, I’m not sure when I’m going to update again, because I burned my thumb last night, nothing serious but I’m not sure how much writing I’ll get done this week, because right now, I have only hand for writing, which is more difficult than you imagine. So for now, hope you guys enjoyed this.


	40. The Ninth Circle strikes back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Olive fears the return of an old foe, the Ninth Circle puts the next phase of their plan into action.

Starling City  
Night

As Quentin led a SWAT team into a Taxi depot in search of Hugo Mannheim, Oliver and Sara watched from a nearby rooftop.

“Thanks for helping me keep watch over my dad tonight,” Sara said gratefully. 

"As long as Slade's out there, neither of our families are safe,” Oliver reminded her.

He was going to say more, but at that moment, shots rang out. Without exchanging a word, the two raced to intervene. 

Quentin and the SWAT team were in a shootout with the mobsters. Oliver fired an arrow, disarming one as Sara jumped down, whirling her baton. Oliver fired another arrow, pinning a man’s arm to a nearby shelf as Sara disarmed two men and sent them down to the ground, out cold.

As the mobsters began retreating, Oliver spotted a familiar face roll out of the depot under the half closed garage door. Making a decision, Oliver raced after him.

"Move, move, move!" Quentin shouted as the SWAT team ran after the mobsters. 

He then turned around, coming race to face with a man with a gun. Before Quentin could react, the man fired and he was hit in the chest. He grunted in pain as he went down, the man racing off. Sara raced over to Quentin’s side, pulling his shirt open, nearly sagging in relief at the sight of the bullet lodged in a Kevlar vest. 

“I’m fine, go. Sara, go,” Quentin told her.

Swallowing her surprise at him knowing who she was, she stood up and raced after the mobster. One thing was for certain, she and her father would be having words late.

Oliver was racing after his target, who was fleeing. Notching an arrow, he fired at the man’s legs. The arrow exploded into iron cables, which wrapped around the man’s legs, binding them together. As he fell, rolling over on his back, Oliver approached, staring down at his target.

“Frank Bertinelli.”

“My daughter send you here to kill me?” Bertinelli asked.

On the second floor of the building, Sara had caught up with the man who shot Quentin. Throwing a knife, she disarmed him as it hit his hand. He turned around as Sara rushed him, sending a powerful kick to his chest before striking him with her baton. He hit the wall face first, out cold before he slumped to the floor.

Hearing police sirens, Sara decided it was time to leave and exited the depot. 

Later, after all the mobsters were loaded into the back of a police car, Quentin met Oliver and Sara in the back alley of the depot.

“Dad, are you alright?” Sara asked in concern and he nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. And to answer your question, no, Laurel didn’t tell me,” Quentin assured her. “When I found out you back and I saw the footage of you, I put two and two together. You’re my daughter, you could be wearing a paper bag over your head and I’d still know it’s you.”

“Detective,” Oliver called out and the pair looked over at him. “We have another problem.”

“Yeah, I know. With Frank Bertinelli in custody, it's just a matter of time before she rolls back into town," Quentin said with a sigh.

“Who’s ‘she’?” Sara asked in confusion.

Arrow lair  
Later

“Helena Bertinelli,” Oliver said as he, Sara, Felicity and Roy stood in the lair, Felicity pulling up the file on Helena. “Daughter of mafia boss Frank Bertinelli."

“Or as I like to call her, ‘Oliver's psycho ex-girlfriend hell-bent on revenge against her father’,” Felicity quipped.

“Ex-girlfriend?” Sara asked cheekily and Oliver shot her a look that was part annoyance and part amusement.

“Why does she want to kill her father so badly?” Roy asked in confusion.

“He had her fiancé murdered, she wants payback,” Oliver explained.

"Puts the many fights I've had with my father in perspective,” Sara noted.

“We’ve been keeping tabs on Helena since she left Starling City last year,” Oliver said as Felicity pulled up multiple pictures, taken from crime scenes of murder victims.

“She has been busy, torturing and killing Mafioso's that might know where her father is,” Felicity said. “Last known sighting was a month ago, Palermo.”

“Once her father’s arrest hits the wire, Helena will come back here first thing,” Oliver said grimly.

“Not to sound callous, but why do we care if she kills her father?” Roy inquired.

“Because Helena will stop at nothing to do it, and she doesn’t exactly care about any collateral damage she may cause. When I first met her, she nearly killed my mother trying to kill a member of her father’s organization,” Oliver said grimly.

“Well, Dig certainly picked a Hell of a time to head off with Amanda Waller,” Sara noted dryly. 

Washington DC, next day  
Afternoon

Diggle was cleaning his gun when his phone rang. Putting it down, Diggle answered as he saw it was Felicity.

“Hey,” Diggle said in greeting.

“Please tell me you’re on your way back,” Felicity almost pleaded.

“Sorry. This whole business with the Ninth Circle has Waller extra paranoid, we’ve changed planes a few times and should finally reach this black site she has in mind today. Why, what’s up?” Diggle asked.

“Last night, Frank Bertinelli was arrested,” Felicity said and Diggle closed his eyes as he understood.

“And it won’t be long until his daughter comes looking for him,” Diggle noted. “Oliver knows how to handle her, it’s gonna be fine Felicity.”

“I hope you’re right,” Felicity muttered. “Just get the Intel out of Dante and hurry back.”

“With Waller, I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem. I’ll see you soon,” Diggle promised before hanging up.

As he pocked his phone, Diggle felt someone behind him. Turning around, he saw Isabel Rochev standing a few feet from him.

“Can I help you Isabel?” Diggle asked.

“It’s almost time to get moving. The Ninth Circle agents you have in Argus got me clearance for the mission,” she said and Diggle nodded.

“You’d be surprised at how good we are at infiltrating an organization, especially ones that pride themselves on seeing threats everything,” Diggle aid smugly. 

“You know, when I found out you were a member of the Ninth Circle, I was surprised,” Isabel noted and Diggle smirked.

“My job was to fool a man who didn’t trust anyone. Fooling you was no difficult task,” Diggle said and she smirked.

“Out of curiosity, how long have you-”

“Been part of the Ninth Circle?” Diggle asked and she nodded. “About four years now. I was recruited not long after my brother’s death.”

“I see. So how did you end up working with Oliver?” Isabel asked.

“After Oliver came back from that island, Emiko wanted to know if their father had told him anything about her, if he was a threat. Being his bodyguard put me in the perfect position to get close to him, figure out what he was thinking. After he told me his secret, my orders were to distract him, get him off the list to avoid interfering in Ninth Circle operations,” Diggle explained.

“And he never suspected anything?” Isabel asked surprised. “You said it yourself, Oliver didn’t trust anyone.” 

“And so I gave him someone he wanted to trust. Oliver didn’t recruit me because of my military background; he recruited me to be his moral compass. He wanted someone to help him open up again,” Diggle pointed out.

“And it was that easy for you? All this time working with him, standing by his side and you felt nothing for him?” Isabel asked, impressed despite herself.

“I respect what he’s trying to do, but Oliver is under the delusion that once he crosses all those names off his father’s list, magically Starling City will be saved. Malcolm Merlyn was right about one thing: the city can’t be saved because the people there don’t want it to be saved. The only way to save it is to start over,” Diggle explained as he grabbed his gun. “Any more questions or can we get on with this?”

“No, I know all I need to,” Isabel said with a smirk.

“Good. Then let’s get this show on the road. It won’t be long until ARGUS realizes something is wrong. Even Amanda Waller would check in once in a while. They’ll know something’s up when she doesn’t call in after a few days,” Diggle said grimly.

ARGUS base, Starling City  
Same time

Lyla Michaels, acting director of ARGUS while Waller was off dealing with Dante, was looking over a report when the door to Waller’s office opened. She looked up, unsurprised to see it was Oliver.

“Sorry to barge in like this,” Oliver apologized.

“It’s fine, I’ve been expecting you,” Lyla said as she put the report down on her desk. “I haven’t heard anything from Johnny or Waller Oliver.”

“I know; I didn’t expect you to, knowing Waller. That’s not why I’m here,” Oliver said and Lyla raised an eyebrow. “Helena Bertinelli.”

“Right, her father was arrested last night,” Lyla noted and Oliver nodded.

“I know Helena Lyla. The moment she hears he’s been caught, she will head back here to kill him and she doesn’t exactly care about collateral damage,” Oliver pointed out.

“What do you want me to do about it?” Lyla asked curiously.

“You’re acting director, you can have him put into Argus custody so we can lure Helena into a trap,” Oliver said. “I know I’m asking a lot, but I don’t think you want Helena roaming the streets any more than I do.”

“You’re right, I don’t,” Lyla acknowledged. “I’ll see what I can do. But I won’t make any promises.”

Roy’s house  
Same time

Roy stared down at the file about his father’s death, deep in thought as he sat at the kitchen table. Hearing someone approaching, Roy closed the file and hid it under some paper bags just before Jade walked in.

“Hey, I’m gonna head to work, I have an early shift this morning,” Jade said and Roy nodded.

“Okay, I’ll see you tonight. We can have dinner if you want,” Roy offered.

“You don’t have to do that,” Jade said immediately.

“I want to. I know I’ve been…distant lately. I want to make it up to you,” Roy promised.

“Okay…I’ll see you tonight then,” Jade said, giving him a kiss before walking off.

ARGUS base, Washington DC  
Later in the afternoon

A plane landed in the hanger by, multiple guards standing by. The ramp deployed and Diggle and Isabel, now dressed in an ARGUS uniform, ‘forcibly’ led Dante down the ramp.

“You must be John Diggle. Lyla Michaels speaks highly of you,” one of the operatives said as the trio reached them.

“I think highly of her to. This is Agent Cameron,” Diggle said, gesturing to Isabel before shoving Dante forward. “And this is Dante; you might know him better as the leader of the Ninth Circle.

“Where’s Waller? We heard she was planning on being here to,” an Operative said suspicious.

“That was the plan, but she’s been spooked by the idea ARGUS has been compromised. She changed planes and said something about going off the grid,” Isabel lied.

“You know how Waller, this thing has only made her more paranoid,” Diggle said and the operatives chuckles.

“Yeah, we know,” one of them said in amusement. 

They began leading Dante away towards his cell and that’s when they struck. Dante broke out of his cuffs, pulled two flechettes out from under his sleeves, and stabbed two of the ARGUS operative in the chest, killing them instantly. Isabel grabbed a knife and threw it, striking an operative in the head as Diggle, taking advantage of their surprise, pulled out his pistol and fired multiple times. Within seconds, all the operatives were dead.

“You’d think Waller would have more operatives here,” Isabel muttered as they lowered their weapons.

“It’s supposed to be a covert base, off the grid. Waller only placed agents she knew she could trust,” Diggle said as he pocketed his pistol.

“Which is good for us,” Dante said, searching the bodies until he found what he was looking for. “It means there is no one else here to stop us.”

Making their way through the hanger, the trio stopped once they reached a wall with a card panel next to it. Dante swiped the access card he had taken off the body through the panel and the wall lifted open, a medal door retreating into the floor. On the other side were five jets.

“All this trouble for some drones,” Isabel said in disbelief.

“Not just drones. They are more advanced than any fighter jets will be for the next few decades. Stealth technology, more fire power than a navy shipyard, and they can all be remote controlled,” Diggle explained. “It’s the final key to Slade and Emiko’s plans.”

“Not quite Mr. Diggle. But they will have their roles to play when the time comes. And they will sink Oliver Queen and Starling City until there is nothing left but ash,” Dante said with a twisted smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Isabel's alias being Agent Cameron is a nod to Summer Glau's role as Cameron on Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles.
> 
> And Slade and Emiko’s plans continue to develop, which means nothing good for Oliver.
> 
> 2x20 is usually seen as the moment when Sara’s character started going downhill, but that is actually not true. The moment it started was actually in 2x17. Sara, who previously expressed a weariness with all the killing she’d done over the years, suddenly has trouble showing restraint and going for the kill becomes her first option. And when Oliver tries to talk some sense into her, she is aggressive the point it doesn’t even feel like a disagreement between a couple or even friends, it feels like an argument between two people who don’t get along. Suddenly, we no longer had Sara, we had Helena in Sara’s body. It was a pretty obvious attempt by Guggie to break up Oliver and Sara to make room for Olicity, made very clear by Felicity not so subtly being there to comfort Oliver whenever Sara storms out of the room.


End file.
